Conjugal Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Clinical Report‪)‬

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the motor cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord (1-3). This motor neuron disease occurs sporadically in 90% of cases, with the etiology remaining largely unknown. It is familial in only 5% to 10% of cases, with 20% of those being linked to a mutation in the SOD1 gene and another 2% to 5% of cases being linked to a mutation in the TDP-43 gene (1, 2). Recently, mutations in the FUS/TLS gene and the C9ORF72 gene have also been implicated in familial ALS (4, 5). The average age of onset for familial ALS is 50 years, while sporadic cases have an average age of onset of 60 years (3). Conjugal ALS is rare and is commonly felt to occur as a chance association. We report a case of conjugal ALS in our outpatient neurology clinic. CASE PRESENTATION