Can Results Of A Spinal Tap Be Wrong Regarding An ALS Diagnosis?

Posted on Sun, 13 Apr 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 13 Apr 2014 Answered on

Fri, 2 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Can results of a spinal tap be wrong regarding an ALS diagnosis?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: Hi and welcome to HCM Detailed Answer: ALS is a very difficult disease to diagnose and several tests are required to confirm or rule out the diagnosis. there is no one test or procedure to ultimately establish the diagnosis of ALS so many factors are investigated such as medical history, physical exmaination, emg,mri, muscle biopsy, myelogram. Spinal tap can detect certain proteins and antibodies which could indicate als but also many other autoimmune diseases so it can be sign of some less serious disorder. But if you have symptomatology of als and positive spinal test,unfortunately there is big chance of having alsa and treatment should be started as soon as possible. Wish you good health. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (1 hour later)

Thank you for your response. A second opinion was recommended by the first neurosurgeon so they are waiting for an appointment. I know that I am having a difficult time accepting that my brother-in-law can be walking one minute and then falling to his knees the next, out of the blue. Although I understand that XXXXXXX Disease is very rare, I am almost hoping that this is what it is as it is treatable, although not curable. ALS is a death sentence. Do you know if testing for Isaac's Disease is normally part of the process?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (16 hours later)

Brief Answer: hi Detailed Answer: I understand your concerns. LS is very serious disease and bad scenario is inevitable,although it is not easy to predict lifetime after the diagnosis is established and it depends from man to man. Issac's would be better "option" but this is not the first thing to think of because of its rarity and not typical age for it. It can be usually differentiated from ALS by EMG features and certain antibodies in blood test. As I said, neuropathies and other neurologic disorders are not easily diagnosed because of nonspecific symptoms and the fact that there is no conclusive test for each disease. But accuracy in diagnosis raises when multiple tests are done and if all standard tests for his symptomatology were done then it is not likely that it could be misdiagnosed unfortunately

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar