The Criteria for Diagnosing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis May Be Unsuitable for Clinical Use

Abstract

Background: The existing diagnostic criteria for definite, probable and possible amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) require at least one upper motor neuron (UMN) sign. However, we think some cases of ALS or motor neuron disease may be not able to fulfill the required criteria. We investigated whether the clinical presentation and course of patients with ALS or motor neuron disease fulfill the required criteria or not.

Difficulty in determining the association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the ZNF512B gene with the risk and prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

“…Moreover, the existing diagnostic criteria of definite, probable, and possible ALS require at least one upper motor neuron (UMN) sign. However, I believe that some patients with ALS or motor neuron disease may not fulfil the criteria39) . ALS as the first step towards conducting better clinical studies on ALS.…”