Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 4, 2025
Utility of Dissociated Intrinsic Hand Muscle Atrophy in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: March 4, 2014
"Phalanx sign" helps to discriminate MSA-C from idiopathic late onset cerebellar ataxia
Vincent Schneider1, Thomas Wirth2,3,4, Andra Iosif2,3,4
1Service de Neurologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire F. Mitterrand, Dijon, France.
Introduction:
Early diagnosis of MSA-C in patients with late-onset cerebellar ataxia (LOCA) may prove difficult. We therefore describe and evaluate the performance of the new "phalanx sign" (PS), that should be looked for during the nose-finger test to distinguish MSA-C from idiopathic late-onset ataxia (ILOCA).
Methods:
Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and interrater reliability of PS were assessed in three groups: 21 MSA-C, 23 ILOCA and 20 age-matched healthy subjects.
Results:
PS was positive for 61.9% of MSA-C patients', 4.3% of ILOCA patients' and in none of healthy subjects' evaluations. PS discriminated MSA-C from ILOCA (p < 0.001) with a sensitivity of 61.9%, a specificity of 95.7%, a positive predictive value of 92.9%, a negative predictive value of 73.3% and a substantial interrater reliability (Kappa = 0.7273).
Conclusion:
PS could be a helpful, easy and reproducible sign for the early diagnosis of MSA-C in patients with LOCA.
More Related Videos
07:33A Simple Composite Phenotype Scoring System for Evaluating Mouse Models of Cerebellar Ataxia
Published on: May 21, 2010
13:31Novel Atomic Force Microscopy Based Biopanning for Isolation of Morphology Specific Reagents against TDP-43 Variants in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: February 12, 2015
Related Concept Videos
01:15Myasthenia Gravis: Diagnostic Tests
The edrophonium test is a diagnostic tool for myasthenia gravis. It involves...
01:21Peripheral Arterial Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Evaluation