A pregnant woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from Iran: a case report

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive motor neuron disease, which is extremely rare during pregnancy. The severity of the disease affects the pregnancy outcome. The present study reports the first Iranian case of a woman with ALS overlapping pregnancy.

The 27-year-old lady in her second pregnancy was admitted to the emergency department with labor pain at the 37th gestation week. Following a multidisciplinary team meeting, including a neurologist, maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and anesthesiologist, a decision was made for an emergent cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. The delivery was successful without any maternal or fetal complications. A 5-month follow-up revealed the stable neurologic status of the mother.

The combination of ALS and pregnancy is very rare because the disease is more common in elderly men. ALS management involves a multidisciplinary approach. Riluzole is a drug that can increase the survival of the patients. ALS does not affect on motor and sensory nerves of the uterus, so vaginal delivery might be possible. The main cause of cesarean section in patients with ALS is respiratory compromise, but four patients with uncomplicated vaginal deliveries have been reported. The neonatal outcome of most cases resulted in normal healthy infants.

Management of ALS in pregnancy is challenging because of respiratory concerns, so multidisciplinary team management is important.