What does “motor neuron disease” mean?

The term “motor neuron disease” can be translated as “disease of the motor nerve cells”. “Moto” stands for the word “motor”, while “neuron” is the medical term for “nerve cell”. Motor neuron diseases are therefore all diseases in which motor nerve cells are broken down Motor neuron diseases can cause the following symptoms: incomplete paralysis (“paresis”), complete paralysis (“plegia” or “paralysis”), muscle atrophy (“myatrophy”) or uncontrolled muscle tension, which manifests itself as muscle stiffness (“spasticity”).

ALS is the most common motor neuron disease. In addition to ALS, it also includes other diseases that have diagnostic and prognostic differences to ALS. The group of motor neuron diseases that do not embody ALS includes spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA; also known as Kennedy’s disease) and spastic spinal paralysis (SSP), which is also known as hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) under certain circumstances. The distribution of symptoms, the severity and the dynamics of symptom development between these diseases are very different. It is possible for a specialist to differentiate between these diagnoses.

In certain clinics, the term “motor neuron disease” is also used synonymously with ALS, as it is the most common motor neuron disease of adulthood. In the UK and British-style healthcare systems, the term motor neuron disease (MND) is used instead of the word ALS.