Predictors of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mimic syndrome

Case Report: Vertebro-vertebral arteriovenous fistula showing symptoms mimicking ALS: Diagnostic imaging supports accurate differentiation between ALS and mimicking conditions

“…ALS mimics tend to present atypical initial symptoms, namely the absence of LMN signs via electromyography and the absence of isolated UMN or LMN signs in the physical examination. 8 Other atypical signs suggesting ALS mimics include patient age younger than 50 years, slow or no progression of symptoms, and involvement of sensory symptoms. 9 A recent retrospective study conducted at an ALS clinic in Argentina found that 11.7% of patients with motor neuron disease symptomatology were later diagnosed as having ALS mimics.…”

“…9 A recent retrospective study conducted at an ALS clinic in Argentina found that 11.7% of patients with motor neuron disease symptomatology were later diagnosed as having ALS mimics. 8 Furthermore, even after being diagnosed as ALS, fully 3.9-9.7% of cases later turned out to be ALS mimics. 8,9 The alterative diagnoses of those patients include spinal cord pathology, hereditary spastic paraparesis, neuropathy, inclusion body myositis, multiple sclerosis, and paraneoplastic syndrome.…”

“…8 Furthermore, even after being diagnosed as ALS, fully 3.9-9.7% of cases later turned out to be ALS mimics. 8,9 The alterative diagnoses of those patients include spinal cord pathology, hereditary spastic paraparesis, neuropathy, inclusion body myositis, multiple sclerosis, and paraneoplastic syndrome. [8][9][10] Accurate diagnosis of ALS mimics-even following an initial incorrect diagnosis of ALS-can lead to improved treatment options and higher quality of life.…”

ALS Mimics due to Affection of the Cervical Spine: From Common Compressive Myelopathy to Rare CSF Epidural Collection

“…As reported in several studies [13, 14], the proximity of UMN and LMN structures in the cervical spine makes cervical myeloradiculopathy (CM) one of the most common differential diagnoses in cases of suspected ALS. A recent retrospective study conducted in Argentina [15] reports that among 368 patients with initially suspected ALS, 11.7% were finally diagnosed with a different disease; among those, 32.6% of the cases (i.e., 3.8% of the whole sample, corresponding to 14 patients) were finally represented by compressive myelopathy. Nonetheless, several studies do not support these observations: Traynor et al [16] analyzed the Irish ALS Register, reporting the most common ALS mimic to be multifocal motor neuropathy, closely followed by Kennedy’s disease.…”