Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

I don't know how much you know about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or what kind of disease it is. This disease is also clinically called Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a motor neuron disease and a chronic lesion. This disease is very common in patients over middle age, and there are more male patients than female patients. The onset of the disease is very slow, and timely symptomatic treatment is required.

We probably don't know much about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The onset of this disease will manifest as peripheral paralysis of the upper limbs and difficulty swallowing. Most patients will have emotional instability, which will have a great impact on their daily lives. A comprehensive examination should be done for this disease.

Clinical manifestations

1. Medical history and symptoms

(1) It is more common in middle-aged and elderly people over 40 years old, with a male to female ratio of about 3:2. It has a slow onset and progressive course.

(2) It is characterized by the coexistence of symptoms of peripheral paralysis of the upper limbs, central paralysis of the lower limbs, and mixed damage to the upper and lower motor neurons.

(3) Symptoms of bulbar palsy: damage to the posterior cranial nerves can cause slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, and coughing when drinking water.

(4) Most patients have no sensory impairment.

2. Physical examination findings

Cranial nerves: In addition to bulbar palsy, there may be tongue muscle atrophy, tongue muscle tremors, involuntary crying and laughing, emotional instability, etc. In the upper limbs, distal muscle atrophy is common, mainly in the thenar, hypothenar, and interosseous muscles, accompanied by fasciculations and normal sensation. Both lower limbs showed spastic paralysis, increased muscle tone, hyperreflexia of tendons, and positive bilateral pathological reflexes. If the respiratory muscles are affected, breathing difficulties may occur.

treat

There is no effective treatment, and symptomatic treatment is the main approach.

1. People with breathing difficulties

Give oxygen and assisted breathing if necessary.

2. People with dysphagia

Nasogastric feeding or intravenous hypertrophic nutrition to maintain nutritional and water and electrolyte balance.

3. Neurotrophic drugs

Citicoline diphosphate, myogenic injection, adenosine triphosphate, alkaline fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) intramuscular injection, melonin (cytidine triphosphate disodium intramuscular injection.

4. Oral administration of Antan or Amoxetine

It can alleviate or improve muscle spasms and increased muscle tension caused by upper motor neuron damage.

5. Prevention and treatment of complications

To prevent joint stiffness and contracture, adhere to proper physical exercise and physical therapy. Prevent lung infections.

Everyone should have some understanding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Some of the symptoms of this disease have a lot of impact on our daily life. Patients will have symptoms of difficulty breathing and swallowing. During treatment, we should be able to treat these symptoms well to prevent the occurrence of some complications.