Uncommon Spinal Cord MRI Findings in a Patient With Early-Onset Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: A 26-year-old man presented with an 8-month history of progressive lower limb weakness extending to upper limbs over 3 months, cramps, and a 27 kg weight loss.Examination showed weakness in upper and lower right limbs with signs of upper motor neuron (MN) involvement in bulbar, cervical, and lumbar regions, and signs of lower MN involvement in the cervical region.Brain and spinal MRI were abnormal (Figures 1 and 2).Lumbar puncture and blood tests (including immunologic, infectious, and metabolic tests) were normal.Electroneuromyography confirmed lower MN involvement with signs of acute and chronic motor denervation in cervical and thoracic regions, leading to the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Although brain MRI anomalies are well-documented in ALS, 1 spine MRI is usually normal and used to exclude differential diagnoses.T2 hyperintensities in the cervical spinal cord on a 7-Tesla MRI were previously reported.2 Our case confirms that 1.5-Tesla spine MRI can reveal abnormalities which, although rare, are consistent with the diagnosis of ALS.
Source: Neurology
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4408158595