SERIAL MRI AND SPECT IN AMYOTROPHIC-LATERAL-SCLEROSIS - A CASE-REPORT

We report the case of a 42 year-old woman with amyotrophic lateral scl erosis (ALS). Neurological examination showed spastic paraparesis and muscular atrophy of the upper extremities. Increased signal intensity areas were present in the lateral corticospinal tract of the brain and cervical spinal cord on a T2-weighted image. Decreased signal intensi ty of the motor cortex or the T2-weighted image appeared during the co urse of the illness. SPECT showed hypoperfusion confined to the motor cortex. The area of increased signal intensity in the cervical spinal cord on the T2-weighted MR images extended to the anterolateral column s of the spinal cord. The area of hypoperfusion in SPECT extended to t he fronto-parietal area with the progression of the disease. These cha nges in the MRI and SPECT findings may reflect progressive degeneratio n of the upper motor neurons in ALS. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.