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- Title
Another perspective on fasciculations: when is it not caused by the classic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or progressive spinal atrophy?
- Authors
Araujo Leite, Marco Antonio; Orsini, Marco; de Freitas, Marcos R. G.; Santos Pereira, João; Porto Gobbi, Fábio Henrique; Bastos, Victor Hugo; de Castro Machado, Dionis; Machado, Sergio; Arrias-Carrion, Oscar; de Souza, Jano Alves; Oliveira, Acary Bulle
- Abstract
Fasciculations are visible, fine and fast, sometimes vermicular contractions of fine muscle fibers that occur spontaneously and intermittently. The aim of this article is to discuss the main causes for fasciculations and their pathophysiology in different sites of the central/peripheral injury and in particular to disprove that the presence of this finding in the neurological examination is indicative of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Undoubtedly, most fasciculations have a distal origin in the motor nerve both in normal subjects and in patients with motor neuron disease. Most of them spread to other dendritic spines often producing an antidromic impulse in the main axon. The clinical and neurophysiological diagnosis must be thorough. It may often take long to record fasciculations with electroneuromyography. In other cases, temporal monitoring is necessary before the diagnosis. The treatment, which may be adequate in some cases, is not always necessary.
- Subjects
AMYOTROPHIC lateral sclerosis; MUSCLE contraction; SPINAL muscular atrophy; ELECTROMYOGRAPHY; NEUROLOGIC examination
- Publication
Neurology International, 2014, Vol 6, Issue 3, p47
- ISSN
2035-8377
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.4081/ni.2014.5208