CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML+RDFa 1.0//EN" "http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/DTD/xhtml-rdfa-1.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" version="XHTML+RDFa 1.0" dir="ltr" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:og="http://ogp.me/ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:sioc="http://rdfs.org/sioc/ns#" xmlns:sioct="http://rdfs.org/sioc/types#" xmlns:skos="http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#"> <head profile="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="Generator" content="Drupal 7 (http://drupal.org)" /> <link rel="canonical" href="/signs-and-symptoms" /> <link rel="shortlink" href="/node/456" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/profiles/ucsf_b1gfoot/themes/ucsf_b1gfoot_theme/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://als.ucsf.edu/profiles/ucsf_b1gfoot/themes/ucsf_b1gfoot_theme/img/img-metatag.jpg" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="940" /> <meta property="twitter:image" content="https://als.ucsf.edu/profiles/ucsf_b1gfoot/themes/ucsf_b1gfoot_theme/img/img-metatag.jpg" /> <meta property="twitter:card" content="summary" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Neurology Clinical Programs" /> <meta property="twitter:url" content="https://als.ucsf.edu/signs-and-symptoms" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://als.ucsf.edu/signs-and-symptoms" /> <meta property="twitter:title" content="Signs and Symptoms | Neurology Clinical Programs" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Signs and Symptoms" /> <title>Signs and Symptoms | Neurology Clinical Programs</title> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/css/css_kShW4RPmRstZ3SpIC-ZvVGNFVAi0WEMuCnI0ZkYIaFw.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/css/css_EJL_7lrjsH8BZ6q38g9TN9dgvY5IouUd4PiJZQyBEFI.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/css/css_rV3Wod_e6ST6El0CA65NgFrvcFHnCpm1z0SGwM9reQg.css" media="all" /> <style type="text/css" media="all"> <![CDATA[/*> </style> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hopscotch/0.2.5/css/hopscotch.min.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.4.0/css/font-awesome.min.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/css/css_-5KGL3kpG9BJtjhjan_sSs2LNKUh8DXr0FbFKbHMQxM.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/css/css_47DEQpj8HBSa-_TImW-5JCeuQeRkm5NMpJWZG3hSuFU.css" media="print" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/css/css_zf20glj0zlt-i5VyoLzB0ei0GolLQsGYQTTXFJ83i0o.css" media="all" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js_Pt6OpwTd6jcHLRIjrE-eSPLWMxWDkcyYrPTIrXDSON0.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js_onbE0n0cQY6KTDQtHO_E27UBymFC-RuqypZZ6Zxez-o.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js_gHk2gWJ_Qw_jU2qRiUmSl7d8oly1Cx7lQFrqcp3RXcI.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js_xe_uRFgIncjVWm4-Oa-ayIcSuU7G-5paEa2xC6Asbdg.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hopscotch/0.2.5/js/hopscotch.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js_Md_O18EkEkENyifmdSaTOM057n9-b6JB039etuiVtGE.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-39651801-5"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js_3KU2G0XuUwThidq7lpTBQghUO1g1ty4dEdv-co66Xqw.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/js/js__pev76oqunwyHrozBOUwthVLhzUZgLLfKlmOonOmdkg.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script> </head> <body class="html not-front not-logged-in page-node page-node- page-node-456 node-type-page slider-secondary ucsf-b1gfoot font--header--helveticaneue nav--lock slider-secondary-no-image profile--expanded sidebar sidebar--left sidebar-color--white" > <div id="skip-link"> <a href="#main-content" class="element-invisible element-focusable">Skip to main content</a> </div> <div id="page-wrapper"> <div id="page"> <div class="ucsf-top-header row-full-width logo"> <div class="inside"> <ul class="menu"> <li class="first"><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu">University of California San Francisco</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ucsfhealth.org/">UCSF Health</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/search" title="">Search UCSF</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/about">About UCSF</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="header" class="row-full-width"> <div class="inside clearfix"> <a href="/" title="Home" rel="home" id="logo"> <img src="https://als.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra3426/f/UCSF_Weill_LockUp_ALSCenter_logo.jpg" alt="Home" /> </a> <div class="region region-header"> <div id="block-search-form" class="block block-search"> <div class="content"> <form onsubmit="if(this.search_block_form.value=='Search'){ alert('Please enter a search'); return false; }" action="/signs-and-symptoms" method="post" id="search-block-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="container-inline"> <h2 class="element-invisible">Search form</h2> <div class="form-item form-type-textfield form-item-search-block-form"> <label class="element-invisible" for="edit-search-block-form--2">Search... </label> <input title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." placeholder="Search..." class="text-input fa fa-search form-text" aria-hidden="" type="text" id="edit-search-block-form--2" name="search_block_form" value="" size="40" maxlength="128" /> </div> <div class="form-actions form-wrapper" id="edit-actions"><input type="submit" id="edit-submit" name="op" value="" class="form-submit" /></div><input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-EDMurMQ1i7eej967qaXjoaVzJ7S8vvWyuLgOK-Z_QWA" /> <input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_block_form" /> </div> </div></form> </div> </div> <div id="block-ucsf-b1gfoot-tweaks-header-socialmedia" class="block block-ucsf-b1gfoot-tweaks"> <div class="content"> <div class="nav-social"></div> </div> </div> <div id="block-menu-block-1" class="block block-menu-block"> <div class="content"> <div class="menu-block-wrapper menu-block-1 menu-name-main-menu parent-mlid-0 menu-level-1"> <ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf menu-mlid-1431"><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li class="expanded active-trail menu-mlid-6911"><a href="/patients-and-families" title="" class="active-trail">Patients and Families</a><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf menu-mlid-6946"><a href="/what-als">What is ALS?</a></li> <li class="leaf active-trail active menu-mlid-6951"><a href="/signs-and-symptoms" title="" class="active-trail active">Signs and Symptoms</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-6956"><a href="/diagnosis" title="">Diagnosis</a></li> <li class="last leaf menu-mlid-6961"><a href="/treatments" title="">Treatments</a></li> </ul></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-6916"><a href="/refer-your-patient">Refer Your Patient</a></li> <li class="expanded menu-mlid-6921"><a href="/our-services">Our Services</a><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf menu-mlid-6976"><a href="/multidisciplinary-als-care" title="">Multidisciplinary ALS Care</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-6986"><a href="/satellite-clinics" title="">Satellite Clinics</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-6981"><a href="/telehealth-visits" title="">Telehealth Visits</a></li> <li class="last leaf menu-mlid-6971"><a href="/research">Research and Clinical Trials</a></li> </ul></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-2661"><a href="/our-team">Our Team</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-9031"><a href="/research" title="">Research</a></li> <li class="expanded menu-mlid-6926"><a href="/education">Education</a><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf menu-mlid-6966"><a href="/community-resources-support">Resources</a></li> <li class="last leaf menu-mlid-10736"><a href="/webinars-0" title="">Webinars</a></li> </ul></li> <li class="last leaf menu-mlid-6896"><a href="/news" title="">Recent News</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="breadcrumb" class="row-full-width"><div class="inside"><h2 class="element-invisible">You are here</h2><div class="breadcrumb"><a href="/">Home</a> > <a href="/patients-and-families" title="">Patients and Families</a> > <span class="breadcrumb-page-title">Signs and Symptoms</span></div></div></div> <h1 class="title" id="page-title">Signs and Symptoms</h1> <div class="content-top"> </div> <div id="main-wrapper"> <div id="main" class="clearfix"> <div id="content" class="column"> <div class="inside"> <a id="main-content"></a> <div class="tabs"></div> <div class="region region-content"> <div id="block-system-main" class="block block-system"> <div class="content"> <div id="node-456" class="node node-page slider-secondary clearfix" about="/signs-and-symptoms" typeof="sioc:Item foaf:Document"> <span property="dc:title" content="Signs and Symptoms" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="sioc:num_replies" content="0" datatype="xsd:integer" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-body field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>At first, symptoms of ALS may be barely noticed. But over time, the disease worsens. As nerve cells die, the muscles they control stop acting and reacting correctly.</p> <ul> <li>Arms and legs may lose strength and coordination.</li> <li>Feet and ankles may become weak.</li> <li>General fatigue may develop</li> <li>Muscles in the arms, shoulders and tongue may cramp or twitch.</li> <li>Swallowing, speaking and breathing may become difficult.</li> </ul> <p>Eventually, ALS weakens muscles, including muscles used for breathing, until they become paralyzed. Unable to swallow, patients with ALS may aspirate or inhale food or saliva into their lungs. In fact, most people with ALS die of respiratory failure. The ability to think, see, hear, smell, taste and touch, however, usually is not affected.</p> <p><em>UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.</em></p> </div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="column"> <div class="sidebar_top"> <div class="region region-sidebar-top"> <div id="block-menu-block-2" class="block block-menu-block"> <h3><a href="/patients-and-families" title="" class="active-trail">Patients and Families</a></h3> <div class="content"> <div class="menu-block-wrapper menu-block-2 menu-name-main-menu parent-mlid-0 menu-level-2"> <ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf menu-mlid-6946"><a href="/what-als">What is ALS?</a></li> <li class="leaf active-trail active menu-mlid-6951"><a href="/signs-and-symptoms" title="" class="active-trail active">Signs and Symptoms</a></li> <li class="leaf menu-mlid-6956"><a href="/diagnosis" title="">Diagnosis</a></li> <li class="last leaf menu-mlid-6961"><a href="/treatments" title="">Treatments</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sidebar"> <div class="section"> <div class="region region-sidebar"> <div id="block-block-11" class="block block-block"> <h3>Our Location</h3> <div class="content"> <p>400 Parnassus Ave, Eighth Floor<br /> San Francisco, CA 94143<br /> 聽</p> <p><a class="btn--small btn--blue" href="https://www.google.com/maps/dir/37.7506846,-122.4580463/400+Parnassus+Ave,+San+Francisco,+CA+94143/@37.7557761,-122.4699173,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m1!4e1!1m5!1m1!1s0x808587575d3e1ad1:0x9bd5c96264d55d0d!2m2!1d-122.4572508!2d37.7645542">see on map</a></p> </div> </div> <div id="block-block-6" class="block block-block"> <h3>Contact Us</h3> <div class="content"> <p><a>Phone: (415) 353-2122 </a></p> <p><a>Fax: (415) 353-2524 </a></p> </div> </div> <div id="block-block-16" class="block block-block"> <h3>Make a Gift</h3> <div class="content"> <p>Support the work of the ALS Center聽at UCSF<br /> 聽</p> <p><a class="btn--small btn--blue btn--giving" href="https://makeagift.ucsf.edu/site/SPageServer?pagename=A1_API_GeneralGivingForm&Primary=Neuroscience&AppealCode=C8DAW&Other=Rick%20Olney%20Endowed%20Professorship%20(S0406)"><strong>Give Today</strong></a></p> <p>聽</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div id="footer"> <div class="section"> <div class="footer-bottom"> <nav aria-label="Footer Navigation" class="footer--navigation"> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/accessibility-resources">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/website-privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://websites.ucsf.edu/website-terms-use">Terms of Use </a></li> <li><a href="https://websites.ucsf.edu/azlist">A-Z Website List</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div class="footer--copyright"> <p>© 2024 The Regents of the University of California</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { var sz = document.createElement('script'); sz.type = 'text/javascript'; sz.async = true; sz.src = '//siteimproveanalytics.com/js/siteanalyze_8343.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(sz, s); })(); /*]]>*/ </script> </body> </html>