Sural nerve pathology in ALS patients: a single-centre experience

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive degenerative disease of upper and lower motor neurons. Sensory involvement is thought not to be a feature of ALS. We reviewed 17 cases of sural nerve biopsies performed in a large cohort of ALS patients referred to our centre over a 23-year period...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurological sciences 2012-10, Vol.33 (5), p.1095-1099
Main Authors: Luigetti, Marco, Conte, Amelia, Del Grande, Alessandra, Bisogni, Giulia, Romano, Angela, Sabatelli, Mario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - complications
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - pathology
Biopsy
Data processing
Demyelination
Female
Humans
Inflammation
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Motor neurons
Neurology
Neuropathy
Neuroradiology
Neurosciences
Neurosurgery
Original Article
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases - etiology
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases - pathology
Psychiatry
Sensory neurons
sural nerve
Sural Nerve - pathology
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Summary:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive degenerative disease of upper and lower motor neurons. Sensory involvement is thought not to be a feature of ALS. We reviewed 17 cases of sural nerve biopsies performed in a large cohort of ALS patients referred to our centre over a 23-year period. More than two-third of biopsies revealed a variable degree of axonal loss. In one case, pathological findings suggested the concomitant presence of an inherited neuropathy, subsequently confirmed by genetic evaluation. In another case, pathological and neurographic data were similar to those of an inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy, but the clinical course corroborated the diagnosis of ALS. Our data confirm that sensory nerve involvement may be found in ALS patients. This finding should prompt physicians to carefully investigate a possible alternative diagnosis, but does not exclude the possibility that the patient may have ALS.
ISSN:1590-1874
1590-3478
DOI:10.1007/s10072-011-0909-5