Figure 1

Transcranial sonography (TCS) studies in ALS compared to myasthenia gravis (MG), inflammatory neuropathies (IN) and cervical canal stenosis (CCS). (A) Representative TCS pictures of axial transsections of the brain at midbrain level in one patient with ALS, MG, IN and CCS, respectively. The TCS images show abnormal SN in ALS. In the area of the substantia nigra (SN), a marked hyperechogenicity can be seen. (B) Box plots of SN areas measured by TCS in ALS, MG, IN and CCS patients. The plots show the 10th percentile, first quartile, median, third quartile, and 90th percentile for each parameter. Open circles represent the means. Numbers in parentheses indicate the numbers of patients analyzed. P values are from Bonferroni adjusted post-hoc t-tests. (C) Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves displaying the sensitivity and specificity of SN hyperechogenic area for diagnosis of ALS. Insets indicate AUC values, 95% confidence intervals and statistics.