肌萎缩性侧索硬化症

迹象 & 症状

起初，肌萎缩性侧索硬化症的症状可能很少被注意到. 但随着时间的推移，这种疾病会恶化. As nerve cells die, the muscles they control stop acting and reacting correctly.

• 胳膊和腿可能会失去力量和协调性.
• 脚和脚踝可能会变得虚弱.
• 可能出现全身疲劳
• Muscles in the arms, shoulders and tongue may cramp or twitch.
• Swallowing, 说话 and breathing may become difficult.

Eventually, 肌萎缩性侧索硬化症 weakens muscles, including muscles used for breathing, until they become paralyzed. Unable to swallow, patients with 肌萎缩性侧索硬化症 may aspirate or inhale food or saliva into their lungs. In fact, most people with 肌萎缩性侧索硬化症 die of respiratory failure. The ability to think, see, hear, smell, taste and touch, 然而, usually is not affected.

诊断

肌萎缩侧索硬化症可能很难诊断. There is no one test or procedure to confirm the diagnosis.

来确定你是否患有渐冻症, your doctor will perform an evaluation that includes a 物理 exam, 病史, 实验室测试，如血液和尿液测试, and imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spinal cord.

肌电图(EMG) may be used to test the health of your muscles and the nerves controlling your muscles. This test is very sensitive in detecting lower motor neuron disease.

There are no standard laboratory tests for upper motor neuron disease. But certain signs may be interpreted by your doctor as signs of 肌萎缩性侧索硬化症 such as:

• Babinski's reflex, an unusual flexing of the toes that signals damaged nerve paths
• 精细运动协调能力减弱
• Muscle cramps, which can be painful, and twitching
• Spasticity, a specific type of stiffness that causes jerky, hard to control movements

治疗

尽管目前还没有治愈肌萎缩性侧索硬化症的方法, the drug riluzole has been approved for treatment and may slow progression of the disease. It is expensive, 然而, and appears modestly effective. Generally, treatment is designed to help control 症状.

处方药物包括:

• Drugs such as baclofen or diazepam may help control spasticity.
• 加巴喷丁可以用来帮助控制疼痛.
• Trihexyphenidyl or amitriptyline may help patients swallow saliva.

因为随着渐冻症的发展，窒息很常见, patients may need a tube called a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube or feeding tube to be placed into the stomach for feeding. A referral to an otolaryngologist — an ear, nose and throat specialist — may be recommended.

物理治疗, 康复, 使用支架或轮椅等器具, and other treatments may help muscles work as well as possible and improve your general health. Those who develop difficulty 说话 may benefit from speech therapy as well as speech synthesizers and computer-based communication systems.

肌萎缩性侧索硬化症 patients gradually lose the ability to function and care for themselves. They may survive from two to 10 years after the onset of the disease, with about 20 percent of 肌萎缩性侧索硬化症 patients living more than five years after diagnosis.