The diagnostic interval in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

We studied whether there are any parameters that influence the period between onset of symptoms and confirmation of diagnosis in 117 patients with ALS (65 male, 52 female). The mean age of diagnosis was 57 years for men and 59 years for women. Bulbar-onset patients were older at diagnosis than limb-onset patients both men and women. Patients with bulbar-onset appeared to be more frequent in women (33:19). Contrariwise, limb-onset patients were more frequently male (43:22). The time to confirmation was much shorter with symptoms of bulbar-onset (10.5 months in male, 9.8 months in female) than for those with limb-onset (13.7 months in male, 14.8 months in female) in male, respectively, female ALS patients. The diagnosis of ALS was established in all cases by neurologists in our study. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.