Sympathetic skin response in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to verify the usefulness of the sympathetic skin response (SSR) as an instrument for assessing autonomic involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).


METHODS
- We studied palmar and plantar SSR in 31 patients with ALS (mean age: 58.4+/-9.3 years); 48 age-matched healthy subjects constituted the control group.


RESULTS
Palmar SSR was elicitable in all patients, and its latency and amplitude did not significantly differ from that of the controls. Plantar response was evoked in all but 7 patients. The lack of response was significantly related to the functional disability and duration of the disease.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that SSR, even the plantar response, cannot be considered a useful tool for detecting early autonomic involvement in ALS.
Miscio
G
G
Department of Neurology, Salvatore Maugeri Foundation, IRCCS, Rehabilitation Institute, Veruno (NO), Italy.
Pisano
F
F
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*