ALS refers to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the diagnosis methods include physical examination, laboratory tests, muscle biopsy, etc.
1. Physical examination: signs of muscle involvement in both upper limbs, muscle atrophy may appear, muscle tone is generally not high, but tendon hyperreflexia, Hoffmann's sign is positive;Signs of muscle involvement in both lower extremities, muscle atrophy and fasciculations tend to be mild, muscle tone is high, tendon hyperreflexes are high, and Babinski's sign is positive.
2. Laboratory examination: the blood routine in the blood test is generally normal, and the serum creatine kinase activity can be normal or slightly increased. Thyroid function, vitamin B12, serum protein electrophoresis, and immunologic markers should also be monitored to rule out other disorders. A lumbar puncture is done to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for examination, which is usually normal or mildly elevated in protein, and immunoglobulin may be elevated.
3. Muscle biopsy: pathological changes of neurogenic amyotrophic atrophy can be seen, and it can be used to rule out pyramidal tract or lower motor neuron damage caused by other lesions.
Precautions: The early symptoms of the disease are mild and can be easily confused with other diseases. Patients may just feel some symptoms such as weakness, meat jumping, and fatigue easily, which gradually progress to generalized muscle atrophy, difficulty swallowing, and finally respiratory failure.