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Bulbar‐onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a patient with Chiari I malformation
Author(s) -
Lo Coco D.,
Militello A.,
Piccoli F.,
La Bella V.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0404.2001.t01-1-00109.x
Subject(s) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , medicine , brainstem , asymptomatic , surgery , pathology , disease
We report on a patient with bulbar‐onset, clinically defined, sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who also showed a Chiari I malformation. This malformation, otherwise asymptomatic, was detected during the diagnostic work‐up for ALS. To our knowledge this is the first report of an association between these two relatively uncommon disorders. Since our patient worked for many years as a bus‐driver and because the ALS symptoms began in the brainstem region, we suggest that his hindbrain anomaly, along with the mechanical stress on the spine and cranio–vertebral junction due to the daily driving, might have played a role in the region‐specific onset of ALS.