1768 J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.2003.035212 on 16 November 2004. Downloaded from SHORT REPORT Primary lateral sclerosis presenting parkinsonian symptoms without nigrostriatal involvement N Mabuchi, H Watanabe, N Atsuta, M Hirayama, H Ito, H Fukatsu, T Kato, K Ito, G Sobue ............................................................................................................................... J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75:1768–1771. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2003.035212 We encountered three patients with primary lateral sclerosis Patient 2 Frozen gait with initial hesitation developed at age 62, (PLS) showing bradykinesia, frozen gait, and severe postural followed by cramping in both legs during sleep at age 64. He instability, as well as slowly progressive spinobulbar began to experience speech disturbance with spastic dys- spasticity. Cranial magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed arthria and bouts of unprovoked laughing and crying. He precentral gyrus atrophy. Central motor conduction was showed severe postural instability with occasional falling, markedly prolonged or failed to evoke a response. Positron especially backward, as well as akinesia. He could not stand emission tomography (PET) showed significant reduction of up or initiate walking smoothly. He also showed facial 18 [ F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake in the area of the hypokinesia with reduced blinking. All symptoms showed precentral gyrus extending to the prefrontal, medial frontal, gradual progression. and cingulate areas. No abnormalities were seen in the nigrostriatal system with PET using [18F]fluorodopa or 11 Patient 3 [ C]raclopride or with proton MR spectroscopy. Thus, Postural instability and gait disturbance were present by age widespread prefrontal, medial, and cingulate frontal lobe 68. He noted left arm clumsiness, and paucity of movement involvement can be associated with the parkinsonian gradually worsened and progressed to akinesia. He developed symptoms in PLS. spastic dysarthria at age 69. He showed occasional falling, especially backward. All symptoms showed gradual progres- sion. copyright. rimary lateral sclerosis (PLS), a form of motor neurone Methods disease (MND), is a rare non-familial neurodegenerative PET study Pdisorder. PLS is characterised by slowly progressive PET studies were performed using a ECAT EXACT HR47 (CTI/ spinobulbar spasticity reflecting exclusive involvement of Siemens, Knoxville, TN) and HEADTOME-IV (Shimadzu, 12 upper motor neurones. Spastic dysarthria and paraparesis, Kyoto, Japan) for three patients with F-dopa, FDG, and two emotional lability, and pseudobulbar palsy are major clinical of the three patients with RACLO in three dimensional features of PLS. acquisition mode, which yielded 47 simultaneous planes, On rare occasions, MND may give rise to bradykinesia and with an axial full width half maximum resolution of 4.8 mm motor fatigue. These probably arise from generalised spasti- and an inplane resolution of 3.963.9 mm. The protocol for city. However, freezing of gait and severe postural instability F-dopa and FDG injection has been described previously.34 suggest more widespread system involvement and have not RACLO was injected at 494 MBq, and scanning consisted of been well described. We present three patients with PLS 19 time frames for a total of 64 minutes. Photo data were showing these two parkinsonian-like features in addition to presented with three dimensional stereotactic surface projec- http://jnnp.bmj.com/ spinobulbar spasticity and bradykinesia. We investigated tion (3D-SSP) as normalised for the whole brain. 3D-SSP was these symptoms in the patients using positron emission 5 18 performed as described by Minoshima et al. Data were tomography (PET) including [ F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose 18 11 normalised to global activities. The patients’ datasets were (FDG), [ F]fluorodopa (F-dopa), and [ C]raclopride compared individually with the normal database by calculat- (RACLO), as well as proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy 1 ing a z score on a pixel-to-pixel basis, and were displayed in a ( H-MRS). 3D-SSP display for visual inspection. on September 30, 2021 by guest. Protected PATIENTS AND METHODS 1H-MRS study Patients 1H-MRS was performed with a 3.0-T system (Bruker, The three patients, all men, fulfilled Pringle’s diagnostic Germany) using a standard head coil with circular polarisa- 1 criteria for PLS. None had a familial history of PLS, and all tion. The spectroscopic volume of interest was placed in the showed a slowly progressive course. putamen (1 cm3). 1H-MR spectra were acquired using a point-resolved spectroscopy sequence with chemical-shift Patient 1 selective water suppression. The metabolic ratios N-acetyl- Slowness and clumsiness of the right hand became evident at aspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr), and choline containing the age of 43 years. Spasticity involved the right leg, and phospholipids (Cho)/Cr were determined as semiquantitative caused spastic dysarthria by age 44. Soon afterward, the values. Data were compared with those of 18 age matched spasticity spread to all four limbs. At age 45, he showed a control subjects. The protocol was as previously described.6 severely frozen gait and occasional falling, especially back- ward. He also showed severe akinetic posturing and postural 18 Abbreviations: FDG, [ F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose; F-dopa, instability. He was unable to walk unaided by age 51. Speech [18F]fluorodopa; PET, positron emission tomography; 1H-MRS, proton gradually became unintelligible because of severe spastic magnetic resonance spectroscopy; MND, motor neurone disease; PLS, dysarthria, and he was unable to speak aloud at age 53. primary lateral sclerosis; RACLO, [11C]raclopride www.jnnp.com Primary lateral sclerosis presenting parkinsonian symptoms without nigrostriatal involvement 1769 J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.2003.035212 on 16 November 2004. Downloaded from Table 1 Characteristics of the three patients with stooped. Patient 2 showed some emotional lability. Patients 1 primary lateral sclerosis and 2 showed freezing, particularly at initiation of gait, although ability to move otherwise was relatively preserved. Patient 1 Patient 2 Patient 3 Kine´sie paradoxale was not observed. Levodopa was not effective in any patient. Age at examination, 53/M 66/M 72/M (years)/sex Haematological and serum biochemistry tests gave normal Duration of illness (years) 10 4 4 results. Tests for human T lymphocytotropic virus 1 and Spastic dysarthria ++ ++ ++ syphilis were negative in all patients. Cerebrospinal fluid test Babinski sign (left/right) Present/ Present/ Present/ results were normal except in patient 2, who had slightly present present present Spasticity in limbs ++ ++ ++ elevated protein (65 mg/dl). MR images of the cervical spine Bradykinesia ++ ++ ++ were normal except for non-specific degenerative changes Postural instability +++ +++ +++ without spinal cord compression. Cranial MR images showed Frozen gait ++ ++ – generally mild cortical atrophy including the precentral gyrus Decrease of amplitude in ++ ++ ++ 278 finger and foot tapping in all patients. Nerve conduction studies were normal. Rigidity – – – Concentric needle electromyography (EMG) showed only Tremor – – – focal neurogenic change in the right first dorsal interosseous muscle (patients 1 and 2), left gastrocnemius (patient 2), and –, absent; +, mild; ++, moderate; +++, severe. right triceps (patient 1) without fulfilling revised El Escorial criteria.9 In all patients, motor evoked potentials showed RESULTS markedly increased central motor conduction time or failed The clinical features of the three patients are shown in table 1. to evoke responses in the lower limbs.210 General physical examinations were normal in all patients. FDG-PET showed significantly decreased glucose uptake in On neurologic examination, all three patients showed spastic the area of the precentral gyrus (table 2, fig 1). The reduced dysarthria. Ocular movements were saccadic, but covered a glucose uptake extended to the medial frontal lobe including full range. Muscle power was essentially normal (patient 1, the prefrontal area (patients 1 and 2) and the anterior all limbs normal; patient 2, Medical Research Council grade cingulate cortex (patients 2 and 3). In addition, patient 3 4/5 in the legs and 5/5 in the arms; patient 3, 4/5 in the left showed significantly low glucose uptake in the medial biceps and iliopsoas muscles, but otherwise normal). Muscle posterior parietal lobe. No significant reduction of glucose tone was greatly increased in the limb flexor muscles but not utilisation was observed in the basal ganglia in any patient. in the extensors, this was appreciated best upon rapid In addition, F-dopa and RACLO PET showed no significant movement. The jaw jerk reflex and deep tendon reflexes in reduction of uptake in the putamen and caudate nucleus the legs were brisk, and plantar responses were bilaterally compared with control subjects. NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr values in the putamen were also within the normal range. extensor in all patients. No wasting, fasciculations, amyo- copyright. trophy, sensory impairment, or cognitive dysfunction was seen in any patient. DISCUSSION With respect to parkinsonian symptoms, slowness and We studied three patients with PLS who, in addition to the fatiguing of voluntary movement, poverty of movement, loss expected bulbospinal spasticity, presented poverty of move- of facial expression, and reduction of blinking were