I believe that this study was just aimed to prove and document other cases where fasciculations with cramps just did precede MND and that neurologists should not apply label "benign" before 4-5 years..also to cover their a**.
This paper was intended to challenge the standards for calling a combined cramp and fasciculation disorder benign, especially since the combination of cramps and fasciculations has traditionally led neuros to use more aggressive diagnostic and followup processes with these types of patients because it is so closely tied to ALS. Apparently, some neurologists felt that a clean EMG at the time of CFS diagnosis was an adequate diagnostic and no followup was necessarily required unless the patient developed further symptoms. The four patients in the article were diagnosed with CFS and subsequently developed ALS within 18 months of the CFS diagnosis -- something that might not have been caught as quickly had the patients not been receiving more aggressive followup.
For lack of a better term, folks, this is "inside baseball". The authors of this study are presenting the conservative side of the issue -- although, the overwhelming majority of CFS patients don't develop ALS, we have these four cases that did (and three others that appear to have been documented in the past 25 years) -- maybe we should followup more aggressively and over a longer timeframe. And maybe we should wait a while before we call it "benign".
That's all this paper says. I doubt that any ALS specialist neurologist is surprised by these findings. This paper seems to me to be aimed at the general neurologists out there, prodding them to do longer and more detailed followup with their CFS patients.
If you look at the cases, only 2 had truly widespread twitching (one had only in upper arms, second in legs and back)...so it was 2 ouf of 210...which is very low (but again, its clear that it was not separate neurological condition).
The authors do not make that claim in the paper, Blizna. You are the only one making that claim. It's false, it's fearmongering, and if you are really interested in the truth, you should retract the claim. The combination of cramps and fasciculations has always been an indicator that ALS was a possibility. All this study shows is that a single EMG done on a CFS patient may not be sufficient to label the patient as benign CFS.
I think there is no benefit in discussing this further - it just can happen /like it happened to some members here/,
Name them and provide the documentation that shows the BFS diagnosis changed to ALS (including the clean EMG and the lack of upper motor neuron symptoms at time of BFS diagnosis), Blizna, or withdraw the claim. Stop the fearmongering.
this brand new case study just confirms the older ones but it does not change anything, BFS is mostly that, BFS.
Seven documented cases of CFS, not BFS, that also developed ALS over the past 25 years, out of a potential population of millions. You're right, Blizna, this study doesn't change anything. All your fearmongering here is in vain, but you still couldn't resist the opportunity, could you?