Reversible Lower Motor Neuron Disease: A New Case of a Forgotten Disease

Abstract

Motor neuron disease (MND) is mostly associated with an irreversible course. Spontaneous recovery has been rarely reported. Herein described is a case of a spontaneous recovery of a lower motor neuron disease. A 38-year-old man complained of an insidious onset of weakness in the right upper limb that progressed to the lower limbs in 16 months. Physical examination revealed mild dysphonia, dysphagia, fasciculations, global hypotonia without prominent atrophy, proximal and distal tetraparesis. The patient was wheelchair-bound. EMG revealed signs of recent and chronic denervation involving bulbar, axial and appendicular myotomes with abundant positive sharp waves and fibrillations potentials in all muscles tested. In two year follow-up, the patient evolved with complete recovery and a new EMG study was completely normal. Reversible MND is a condition rarely reported, but physicians should keep in mind the possibility of its occurrence.




J Neurol Res. 2013;3(1):40-41
doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/jnr171w