Scott, a 37-year-old elementary teacher, is seeing his general practitioner for complaints of general weakness, especially in his lower extremities. he has also been feeling very fatigued lately and has trouble keeping up with his students throughout his work day. his physician notes that he has lost a significant amount of weight in the last 6 months. scott reports that even simple tasks, such as brushing his hair and getting dressed, can seem like a chore. he has trouble climbing stairs because of his weakness and notices that his speech is slurred, especially at the end of the day. scott’s physician uses a tongue depressor during his physical examination and scott begins to gag and has difficulty swallowing. his physician notes muscle wasting and abnormal spasticity in upper and lower extremities bilaterally. all reflexes are normal except the babinski reflex. scott’s toes fan out when the sole of his feet are stroked with the reflex hammer.1.scott’s symptoms are primarily related to problems with: a. both sensory and motor neuronsb. sensory neuronsc. neurons of the autonomic nervous system onlyd. motor neurons2.because scott’s symptoms are progressively getting worse over a period of several months, we can rule out which of the following diagnoses? a. muscular dystrophyb. amyotrophic lateral sclerosisc. multiple sclerosisd. traumatic spinal cord hemisectionwhich of the following is not an early symptom of als? a. difficulty swallowingb. fatiguec. leg weaknessd. loss of balance3.als stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. what is the word “lateral” referring to in this case? a. the disease only affects the lateral part of the body. b. the neurodegeneration affects the lateral portion of the cerebrum. c. the neurodegeneration affects the lateral columns of the spinal cord. d. the symptoms only affect one side of the body.4.which of the following statements regarding als is true? a. diagnosing als can involve a spinal tap, electromyography, x-rays, mri, muscle and nerve biopsies, and blood tests. b. the familial type of als is the most common and accounts for 80% of all als cases in the u. s.c. als cannot be cured, but medication can stop the progression and sometimes reverse the effects of als. d. the average survival time for a patient diagnosed with als is 20-25 years post-diagnosis.5.true or false? the motor neurons affected by als are found in the spinal nerves and peripheral branches of those spinal nerves only.