Introduction
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is progressive absolutely fatal
neurodegenerative disease that affects the upper and lower motor
neurons. Disease begins with focal weakness and spreads to involve most
muscles, including the diaphragm. Usually death occurs due to
respiratory failure in 3 to 5 years [1]. Despite excessive
researches on ALS biomarkers, diagnosis is based on clinical
presentation and supported by EMG [2]. MRI basically is used to
exclude ALS mimics, which helps in diagnosis.
We present clinical case of 36 years old male patient suffering ALS for
6 years with accidentally revealed slit-like syrinx cavity and looking
as dilated central canal of the thoracic spinal cord, and clinical case
of 61 years old female patient with ALS and dilates central canal of the
cervix spinal cord. In the presented cases, patients with ALS were
diagnosed with hydromyelia using MRI even before the typical fulfill
clinical manifestation of ALS has developed, which led to a delay and
difficulty in making a correct diagnosis. Such combination of ALS and
hydromyelia has not been reported before. Here we discuss the
differential diagnosis and suppose the causes of the central canal
dilation in our cases.