Document Detail


Respiratory failure in a 70-year-old veteran.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20224486     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In Western countries the incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is 1.89 per 100,000 per year and the prevalence is 5.2 per 100,000. The incidence of ALS is lower among African, Asian, and Hispanic ethnicities when compared to Caucasians. The mean age of onset for sporadic ALS is about 60 years and there is a slight male predominance (male to female ratio of 1.5 to 1). Approximately two thirds of patients with ALS have the spinal form of the disease with symptoms presenting in the extremities. Patients typically have evidence of both lower motor neuron degeneration (atrophy, weakness, and fasciculations) and upper motor neuron degeneration (spasticity, weakness, and hyperreflexia). Patients with limb onset ALS typically complain of focal muscle weakness and wasting. The symptoms may start either distally or proximally in the upper and/or lower limbs. Gradually spasticity develops in the weakened atrophic limbs, affecting manual dexterity and gait. Patients with bulbar onset ALS typically present with dysarthria and dysphagia for solid or liquids. Limb symptoms can develop simultaneously with bulbar onset. In the vast majority of patients, limb weakness will occur within 1-2 years of bulbar onset ALS symptoms. A case of bulbar and sporadic limb ALS in a 70-year-old veteran, presenting with right diaphragmatic paralysis and respiratory failure, is presented.
Authors:
Semaan G Kosseifi; Souheil Abdel Nour; Thomas M Roy; Ryland P Byrd; Anita Alwani
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Case Reports; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Southern medical journal     Volume:  103     ISSN:  1541-8243     ISO Abbreviation:  South. Med. J.     Publication Date:  2010 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-06-10     Completed Date:  2010-07-13     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0404522     Medline TA:  South Med J     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  378-81     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Mountain Home, TN, USA. skosseifi@charterinternet.com
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aged
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / complications*,  diagnosis*
Dyspnea / etiology*,  therapy
Electromyography
Humans
Male
Positive-Pressure Respiration
Respiratory Paralysis / etiology*,  therapy
Veterans

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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