Flail arm syndrome: a clinical variant of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

We describe a case of a 65‐year old patient diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The clinical findings, with symmetric, predominantly proximal wasting and weakness of both arms (especially of the infra‐, supraspinatus and deltoideus) leading to severe functional disability and contrasting with preserved independent ambulation and sparing of bulbar muscles, were consistent with the proposed criteria of the so‐called flail arm syndrome. Based on our case we characterize the clinical features of flail arm syndrome and review the literature.