Mr. Zhao- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(China) Posted on December 29, 2009

Name: Mr. Zhao   
Sex: Male
Country: China
Age: 46
Diagnosis: ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
Admission Date: 2009-11-09
Days Admitted to the Hospital: 37

Pre-Treatment:
In May of 2007, Mr. Zhao vomited after drinking too much alcohol, and then he developed complications with his voice. This wasn't emphasized until almost a year later when the problems with his voice worsened. In April of 2008 his speech became incoherent and he had swallowing difficulties, so he went to the local hospital to see his doctor.

EMG Results:
The motor conduction velocity of the left ulnar nerve and the left median nerve was slightly slow. The MRI of the cervical vertebra showed degenerative pathological changes. Soon after, his left arm became increasingly weak and developed involuntary muscle contractions. He was given methycobal for treatment, but his symptoms continued to worsen. At the same time, his right arm also became increasingly weak and developed involuntary muscle contractions. As a result, he went to Xuanwu Hospital to see a doctor, and received treatment. After the hospitalization, his condition had not significantly improved and the weakness in both upper limbs became more serious.
Mr. Zhao was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and was given riluzole for treatment. He went to several different hospitals for treatment within the past year, but his condition still showed no significant improvement.
Mr. Zhao became aware of our medical center from our website and read about other patients suffering from the same condition who had been treated successfully. After consulting with our doctors, he made the decision to come to our medical center for treatment.

Admission:
Mr. Zhao had difficulties with walking and would occasionally trip and fall. He had overall body weakness, his arms were very inflexible, he had difficulty eating and had problems with drooling. He was emotionally unstable.
Bp: 115/82mmHg; Hr: 80/min. Respiratory sounds in both lungs were clear, no obvious rale. The degree of abdominal and thoracic respiration was low. His heart, abdomen, liver and spleen were normal. Neither of the lower limbs was swollen.
Nervous System Examination:

Mr. Zhao was alert. His memory, calculation and orientation abilities were normal. Both pupils were equal and round, the diameter was 3.0 mm, and could react normally to light stimulus, normal eyeball movement. The convergence of both eyes was weak, but he had strong eye closing ability. Symmetrical forehead pattern. The bilateral nasolabial sulcus was equal in depth. The tongue was centered in the oral cavity and the teeth were shown without deflection. There was atrophy and inflexible movement of the lingualis. The tongue could only extend as far as the lips. The cheek muscles and soft palate were strong. The uvula averted to the right. His neck was soft. He had difficulty turning his head.
The muscle strength of the upper right limb was level 2; the muscle strength of the upper left limb was level 2+; the muscle strength of the fingers was level 3; the muscle strength of both lower limbs was approximately level 5-. The muscle tone in both upper limbs was almost normal. The tendon reflexes of all four limbs were active; the abdominal reflex was abnormal. There were involuntary muscle contractions in both upper limbs and lower jaw, moderate muscle atrophy of both upper limbs and both shoulders, atrophy of the thenar muscles of both hands. The bilateral palm jaw reflex was positive, the sucking reflex was positive, Hoffmann's sign was positive, the right side Babinski's sign was positive; the left side Babinski's sign was negative. He had normal sensitivity to pain. He could not successfully perform the finger-to-nose test. He had problems with the rapid rotation test. However the results of the heel-knee-shin test were normal, demonstrating normal ability in his legs. There were no signs of meningeal irritation.
 
Treatment:

Mr. Zhao came to our hospital on November 9, 2009. Dr. Wu and Dr. Wang's medical team gave him autologous activation and stem cell transplantation treatment. Concurrently, we gave him physical rehabilitation training.

Post-Treatment:
Mr. Zhao's condition has shown good improvement. His emotional state is better and he gets more sleep. His vital capacity has increased; his speech is more coherent than before. His tongue can extend beyond his lips for 3 seconds. His swallowing ability has shown some improvement and he can eat his food more efficiently. The muscle strength of all four limbs has increased from level 2 to level 3.
We are all hopeful that Mr. Zhao's condition will continue to improve.