The clinical characteristics of Hirayama disease in females

Neurologia (Engl Ed). 2024 Nov-Dec;39(9):792-801. doi: 10.1016/j.nrleng.2022.06.004. Epub 2022 Aug 10.

Abstract

Introduction: To characterize Hirayama disease in female patients, and increase awareness among clinicians regarding the specifics of this disease.

Methods: Baseline data, clinical manifestations, characteristics of cervical-flexion magnetic resonance imaging, and electromyography were collected and compared among females and males with Hirayama disease. In addition, the literature on Hirayama disease in females up to October, 2021 was searched in PubMed and the relevant data were compared with the data from our study.

Results: Twenty female and 40 male patients were included in this study. The average ages of onset and menarche were 14.65 and 12.75 years old. All patients suffered from muscular weakness and atrophy of the upper limb(s), with flattening and/or atrophy of the lower cervical spinal cords in cervical-flexion magnetic resonance imaging, and neurogenic patterns in the atrophic muscles as determined using electromyography. The age of onset in females was about 2 years later than the age of menarche, and the age of onset in females was 2 years earlier than that in males. There were no obvious differences in clinical presentation between males and females.

Discussion: Although females presented with Hirayama disease two years earlier than males, no other clinical differences were observed. Hirayama disease is likely associated with growth and development in puberty, and early identification, regardless of whether patients are male or female, is critical to optimizing prognosis.

Keywords: Clinical manifestations; Electromyography; Enfermedad de Hirayama; Female; Hirayama disease; Medical imaging; Pathogenesis; electromiografía; imagenología médica; manifestaciones clínicas; mujer/femenina; patogénesis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age of Onset
  • Child
  • Electromyography*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Male
  • Sex Factors
  • Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood* / physiopathology
  • Young Adult

Supplementary concepts

  • Amyotrophy, monomelic