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Abnormal somatosensory evoked potentials in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology
|April 1, 1985
Summary
Abnormal somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) can occur in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These findings suggest that abnormal SEPs do not necessarily rule out an ALS diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neurophysiology
Background:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease primarily affecting motor neurons.
- Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) are neurophysiological tests used to assess the integrity of the sensory pathways.
Observation:
- A patient presenting with classic clinical and electromyographic signs of ALS exhibited abnormal SEPs.
- Typically, SEPs are expected to be normal in ALS, and abnormalities are often considered exclusionary.
Findings:
- The case study and literature review indicate that abnormal SEPs can be present in individuals diagnosed with ALS.
- This challenges the conventional view that abnormal SEPs definitively argue against an ALS diagnosis.
Implications:
- Abnormal SEPs should not automatically exclude a diagnosis of ALS.
- Further investigation into sensory pathway involvement in ALS is warranted, potentially refining diagnostic criteria.