Muscle ultrasonography in the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objectives

The aims of this study were to investigate the differences of fasciculations detected by muscle ultrasonography (MUS) among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), patients with ALS mimics and healthy controls, and to propose a simplified MUS fasciculation score for the diagnosis of ALS.

Methods

We included 16 patients with ALS (ALS group), 10 patients with ALS mimics (disease-control group), and 10 healthy adults (healthy control group). Subjects underwent MUS in 11 muscles, including the tongue, and bilateral upper trapezius, biceps brachii, abductor pollicis brevis, rectus femoris, and tibialis anterior.

Results

The number of muscles with fasciculations per person was more in the ALS group (6.44 ± 2.56) than in the disease-control group (1.20 ± 1.87, P = 0.001) and healthy control group (0.50 ± 1.08, P < 0.001). Fasciculations in 3 of 11 muscles could predict the ALS diagnosis with high sensitivity (88.2%) and specificity (94.7%).

Conclusions

Fasciculations detected by MUS can be a simple and useful diagnostic tool for ALS.