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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Is The Difference Between Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Multiple Sclerosis?

I am 68, male, and going to va in dallas tx. for 4 years with nuero problems. they have diagnosed me with ms, but only recently, after saying all this time they didn t know. I have taken about every ms medication the is with no help from severe pain. I have compared ms symptoms with als symptoms, and sadly I fear that I do have als. when I said this at my last visit 4 mo, ago they just shrugged it off. How can I know the difference?
posted on Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Twitter Sat, 27 Dec 2014 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 29 Dec 2014 Last reviewed on
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Neurologist,  's  Response
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS is a chronic neurodegerative disease which affects motor neurons in the spinal cord which basically controls skeletal muscles. It is often fatal in a short period of time from when diagnosed and usually starts later in life (>55-60 years of age) and mostly affects males. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is also a chronic neurodegenerative disease, however, it is caused by an immune response against the body itself and affects the brain and spinal cord but is not necessarily selective about the type of neurons that are affected...as ALS is....MS typically hits young adult females in the 20's and 30's. It is almost NEVER fatal in a short time period but can be extremely debilitating. Medications for MS have made a substantial difference to some people over the past 10 years though most continue to progress at what seems to be an unimpeded rate....However, most with MS can and do live nearly full life spans. There is only 1 ALS specific medication on the market and its efficacy is rated as essentially poor with a claim of at most 12-18 months added longevity to a person's lifespan with no real improvement or stabilization of their quality of life. If you'd like more information on either of these 2 disease processes I am happy to answer:

bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
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What Is The Difference Between Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Multiple Sclerosis?

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS is a chronic neurodegerative disease which affects motor neurons in the spinal cord which basically controls skeletal muscles. It is often fatal in a short period of time from when diagnosed and usually starts later in life ( 55-60 years of age) and mostly affects males. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is also a chronic neurodegenerative disease, however, it is caused by an immune response against the body itself and affects the brain and spinal cord but is not necessarily selective about the type of neurons that are affected...as ALS is....MS typically hits young adult females in the 20 s and 30 s. It is almost NEVER fatal in a short time period but can be extremely debilitating. Medications for MS have made a substantial difference to some people over the past 10 years though most continue to progress at what seems to be an unimpeded rate....However, most with MS can and do live nearly full life spans. There is only 1 ALS specific medication on the market and its efficacy is rated as essentially poor with a claim of at most 12-18 months added longevity to a person s lifespan with no real improvement or stabilization of their quality of life. If you d like more information on either of these 2 disease processes I am happy to answer: bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi