FantasticFurball,I know you hate my input but I have read things that suggest that why muscles twitch, even in ALS, is not fully understood. This does mean that eveyone should worry more about having ALS but I think your impression that ALS is such a simple diagnosis and fully understood condition is misleading. For those that come to this board for reassurance, when they hear things like this and then get contrary information it actually makes them more anxious because they feel they can't trust the information here. Muscles can twitch because of dying muscle, nerve irritation, and demyelination and all of these things can be part of the same condition. I have evidence of atrophy (which I guess is dying muscle tissue) on a biopsy. Yet, that same muscle which does twitch is still the same size and stronger a year later. I run faster, can do more squats, and can jump and kick my legs higher and for longer periods of time than a year ago. Whether the twitching is caused by the atrophy or whether the twitching is caused by something else that impacts the nerve and in turn causes the atrophy is unclear. What is clear is that the atrophy is minor (only detectable on a biopsy) and does not cause weakness.I know it is tempting to want this to be simple. I really want it to be too. But when I really investigate this stuff I come away with thinking it is nothing but simple. Don't take this to mean that you can't rule out ALS to a virtual (but not absolute) certainty with basic clinical information (lack of progression, clean EMGs, etc) within I would say at least 6 months or so. It just means that ruling it out is more complicated than looking at someone and saying I don't see any atrophy or weakness and in ALS muscles twitch because of atrophy and weakness therefore you could not possibly have ALS. Krackersones
RegardsDav