2017 Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 43-46
Introduction:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which results in muscle atrophy and weakness. Although manual muscle testing (MMT) has been applied to patients with ALS as a subjective evaluation of muscle strength, it is not enough to detect the slight changes in symptoms. We herein reported the objective evaluation of arm function in ALS patients after administering the combinative therapy with intravenous (IV) edaravone and rehabilitation.
Method:
Two out of five ALS patients who have received the six IV edaravone courses were included in this study as they met the criteria for evaluation of upper extremity function known as simple test for evaluation hand function (STEF). Rehabilitation was applied in these patients with every course of IV edravone treatment. The evaluations with STEF, MMT and ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS)–R were made in these patients before and after administrating the each IV edaravone course.
Result:
The STEF score of case 1 and case 2 on right and left sides of arms before giving the first course of IV edaravone were 81/83 and 26(right)/64(left). After giving the 6th course of IV edaravone, the score of case 1 was improved to 99/97 and case 2 was ameliorated to 32/72. However, both MMT and ALSFRS–R showed no changes with IV edaravone treatment.
Conclusion:
We assessed the upper extremity function test in patients with ALS using STEF. The STEF was able to quantify the improvement in the ALS patients which could not be detected by both MMT and ALS scoring test.
