Neurological diseases >>>> Lateral sclerosis - loss of movement

Lateral sclerosis - loss of movement.

The mechanism of occurrence and symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Lateral sclerosis, or the full name "Lateral amyotrophic sclerosis", refers to a group of diseases that disable the motor neurons of the nervous system. Motor neurons (or motor neurons) are collections of nerve cells whose function is to provide voluntary movement. Motor neurons are divided into two groups: the processes of neurons (axons) of the first group reach the brain and spinal cord, the axons of the second group of neurons innervate muscle tissue.

Along with such diseases as spastic paraplegia, spinal muscular atrophy, poliomyelitis, lateral sclerosis causes atrophy of muscle fibers (not to be confused with muscle tissue dystrophy) and differs from the above diseases in that it affects both groups of motor neurons at once, while in the mentioned diseases only one of the groups of motor neurons.

By affecting motor neurons of the first group, lateral sclerosis disrupts the reflexes of muscle tissue, causes muscle stiffness, and reduces muscle elasticity. The defeat of the second group of motor neurons causes muscle weakness and muscle tissue atrophy.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive disease. May occur at the age of forty or later. Most often, this disease manifests itself in the male population.

The causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are still being studied. The most convincing are currently considered to be hereditary causes (about 10% of cases) and a slow infection caused by a neurotropic virus unknown to science. Studies of pathological changes in the structure of the brain and spinal cord have revealed that with lateral sclerosis , the volume of the spinal cord in the lumbar and cervical regions decreases, the membranes of the brain, spinal and cerebral vessels are affected. Nerve cells shrink and die.

In the development of the disease process with lateral sclerosis, two stages are observed, the first of which is characterized by symptoms - the harbingers of the disease, the second stage is the flowering of the disease, which has become chronic.

The first characteristic signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are:

weakness in the muscles of the arms, shoulder girdle;
fascicular contractions (muscle twitching);
movement disorders in the lower extremities;
change in gait;
sagging feet;
violation of reflexes in the limbs;
as the disease develops, reflexes in the area of the tongue, soft palate, pharynx suffer;
there are violations in the process of swallowing;
speech is disturbed;
neck muscles weaken and stop holding the head, it begins to droop;
it is difficult or impossible to eat;
breathing problems;
intellectual abilities are not affected, but memory problems do occur.

Diagnostics and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

It is quite difficult to diagnose lateral sclerosis in the early stages, since the symptoms of the disease are similar to diseases such as multiple sclerosis , vertebrogenic cervical myelopathy, meningomyelitis, brachial plexitis and many other diseases. Sometimes the diagnosis is carried out more than once to clarify and confirm the diagnosis. Electromyography and MRI are considered the most effective in diagnosing a disease, other hardware studies are carried out only with the aim of differentiating diseases similar in symptomatology.

Since the disease progresses, and the pathological processes cannot be reversed, the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is aimed at slowing down the degeneration of nerve fibers: inhibition of the production of the amino acid glutamate (riluzole, rilutek), the use of neuroprotective agents (Cerebrolysin). Supportive therapy is carried out: vitamin therapy (group B, vitamin E), nootropic drugs, anabolic steroids, drugs that reduce muscle tone are used. In case of complete violation of swallowing, they are transferred to feeding through a tube, the introduction of nutrient solutions parenterally, in case of impaired respiratory functions, a tracheostomy, artificial ventilation of the lungs is done.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a lethal disease, since the outcome of pathological disorders in motor neurons and their death is atrophy of the intercostal muscles and impaired respiratory function. The average life expectancy of patients is 2.5 years, but some live more than 5 years, a very small percentage of patients (4%) live for more than 10 years. Treatment can extend life expectancy and improve quality of life.