anterior horn disease


anterior horn disease

Any condition that affects the anterior horn of the spinal cord, as in Werdnig-Hoffmann disease (infantile spinal muscle atrophy), which is characterised by hypotonia, symmetrical arreflexic weakness, and death by age two. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a distal AHD of adults with fasciculations and wasting of bulbar muscles and poliomyelitis, which is characterised by fever, asymmetric distal involvement (later becoming generalised), with muscle weakness of respiratory and bulbar muscles.

anterior horn disease

Neurology A group of conditions that affect the anterior horn of the spinal cord–eg, Werdnig-Hoffmann disease–aka infantile spinal muscle atrophy, the classic 'floppy infant' syndrome, is characterized by hypotonia, symmetric, arreflexic weakness with death by age 2; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a distal AHD of adults with fasciculations and wasting of 'bulbar' muscles and poliomyelitis, characterized by fever, asymmetric distal involvement, later becoming generalized, with muscle weakness of respiratory and bulbar muscles