Could this be ALS?

[AANM]

Hello,
My son started having weakness in his left hand/arm, he now has twitching and cramping, and just generalized weakness on his left side. He also trips a lot going upstairs. He has been referred to a neuromuscular specialist. I can’t make out what his EMG results are. With his symptoms and abnormal EMG it could be a number of things

 

[Nikki J]

Referral to a neuromuscular is appropriate. I see he is young and has had symptoms for two years so this is slowly progressive whatever it is. There is a non fatal disease called Hirayama that is rare but tends to affect young men and is confined to one arm often. It is most common in Asian ancestry but doesn’t have to be. I don’t know if he has it but it is one possibility. He should go to a neuromuscular at a major medical center

 

[AANM]

Thank you for the response! His symptoms are not confined to one arm, it just started in his hand. He has weakness and twitching along his whole left side. Does his EMG point to ALS?

 

[Nikki J]

It doesn’t appear to meet the diagnostic criteria at this time. There are abnormalities which is why they mention a repeat to see if there is spread. Also, the emg is only one piece. There are also specific exam findings which we can’t know if he has and multiple tests to rule out mimics. The neuromuscular specialist may want their own emg and will likely order more tests

 

[AANM]

Thank you again for your information! As a mom who is watching her once perfectly normal son not being able to lift weights, open bottle tops/cans, seeing the significant muscle weakness/atrophy, muscle twitching in arms/legs go through something that I can't fix or even know the answers to is frustrating.