The latency between traumatic axonal injury and the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in young adult men.

Traumatic axonal injury-induced apoptotic motor neuron cell death in neonatal rats is an established animal model used to study potential therapeutic agents in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In an analogous manner, trauma causing motor neuron axonal injury (which included focal neuropathy, plexopathy, and radiculopathy) preceded the onset of ALS in nine young adult men (age range, 28-43 years). The latency between the traumatic axonal injury and the onset of ALS symptoms in these patients ranged from 5 to 42 months (mean, 14.6 months).