Signs and symptoms of primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) usually take years to progress. They include:

• Stiffness, weakness and spasticity in your legs
• Tripping, difficulty with balance and clumsiness as the leg muscles weaken
• Weakness and stiffness progressing to your trunk, then your arms, hands, tongue and jaw
• Hoarseness, reduced rate of speaking, slurred speech and drooling as the facial muscles weaken
• Difficulties with swallowing and breathing late in the disease

Less commonly, PLS begins in your tongue or hands and then progresses down your spinal cord to your legs.

In primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), the nerve cells in the brain that control movement fail over time. This loss causes movement problems, such as slow movements, balance problems and clumsiness.

Adult primary lateral sclerosis

The cause of adult primary lateral sclerosis is unknown. In most cases, it's not an inherited disease, and it's not known why or how it begins.

Juvenile primary lateral sclerosis

Juvenile primary lateral sclerosis is caused by mutations in a gene called ALS2.

Although researchers don't understand how this gene causes the disease, they know that the ALS2 gene is responsible for giving instructions for creating a protein called alsin, which is present in motor neuron cells.

When the instructions are changed in someone with juvenile PLS, the protein alsin becomes unstable and doesn't work properly, which in turn impairs normal muscle function. Adults who get primary lateral sclerosis don't appear to have the same gene mutation.

Juvenile primary lateral sclerosis is an autosomal recessive disease, meaning that both parents have to be carriers of the gene to pass it to their child, even though they don't have the disease themselves.

Although the average progression of primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) lasts around 20 years, the disease has highly variable effects from person to person. Some people may be able to continue to walk, but others will eventually need to use wheelchairs or other assistive devices.

Adult PLS isn't thought to shorten life expectancy, but it may gradually affect the quality of your life as more muscles become disabled. Weaker muscles may cause you to fall more, which may result in injuries