Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a Brazilian Kayapó-Xikrin native

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders alongside Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. It is a progressive disorder that involves degeneration of motor system at all levels, leading to muscle weakness and fatal course. Physical signs of this disease thus encompass both upper and lower motor neurons.The former is characterized by brisk reflexes and signs of pyramidal release such as Babinski sign, and the latter by muscle atrophy and fasciculation1. The diagnostic criteria for ALS were [...]