What are the symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is relatively common in clinical practice. It is a common motor neuron disease. The symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are very obvious and can manifest as symptoms in multiple parts of the body. Patients also have movement disorders and speech disorders, and may also suffer from dementia in the late stages.

1. Movement disorders: Symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis include spastic paralysis and cerebellar ataxia. In the early stages of ALS, symptoms include clumsy hand movements and tremors, and easy stumbling in the lower limbs. Or there may be speech incoherence and painful myotonic spasms.

2. Cranial nerve dysfunction: decreased vision and dark spots in the center of the visual field caused by optic neuritis may be seen. Internuclear ophthalmoplegia, diplopia, ptosis, irregular or constricted pupils, and nystagmus are also common phenomena. 1-2% of patients suffer from trigeminal neuralgia, and some may experience facial paralysis and facial muscle spasm, which are symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

3. Sensory impairment: often caused by spinal cord lesions, common symptoms include tingling, numbness, and may also include a sense of tightness, burning, coldness or pain. The pain is often in the back, calves, and arms.

4. Speech disorders: mostly caused by cerebellar lesions or pseudobulbar palsy, which can be seen as unclear articulation, inconsistent speech, and even vocal cord paralysis.

5. Emotional excitability: memory loss, cognitive deficits or intellectual impairment, fatigue, muscle weakness, especially in the distal muscles of the upper and lower limbs, fasciculations, loss of muscle mass and decreased muscle strength. Dysarthria and aphonia are rare manifestations of this disease. Sensory manifestations include a tingling sensation in the hands. This process of reinnervation and denervation is an early feature of the disease and can lead to dementia in the late stages.