Project description:Rationale: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is standard of care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), yet few data exist regarding its benefits.Objectives: We sought to identify whether the use of NIV was associated with survival in ALS.Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of 452 patients with ALS seen between 2006 and 2015. We matched one or more NIV subjects (prescribed NIV) to non-NIV subjects (never prescribed NIV) without replacement. The outcome was time from NIV prescription date (NIV subjects) or matched date (non-NIV subjects) until death. We performed a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model with NIV hourly usage as a time-varying covariate and stratified by matched groups.Results: After creating 180 matched groups and adjusting for age, body mass index, ALS Functional Rating Scale Revised dyspnea score, and hourly NIV use, NIV was associated with a 26% reduction in the rate of death compared with non-NIV subjects (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-0.98; P = 0.04). Among those with limb-onset ALS, NIV subjects had a 37% lower rate of death compared with non-NIV subjects (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45-0.87; P = 0.006). Among NIV subjects, we found that NIV use for an average of ≥4 h/d was associated with improved survival.Conclusions: NIV use was associated with significantly better survival in ALS after matching and adjusting for confounders. Increasing duration of daily NIV use was associated with longer survival. Randomized clinical trials should be performed to identify ideal thresholds for improving survival and optimizing adherence in ALS.
Project description:Study objectiveTo evaluate the effects of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) on sleep in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) after meticulous titration with polysomnography (PSG).MethodsIn this prospective observational study, 24 ALS patients were admitted to the sleep laboratory during 4 nights for in-hospital NIV titration with PSG and nocturnal capnography. Questionnaires were used to assess subjective sleep quality and quality of life (QoL). Patients were readmitted after one month.ResultsIn the total group, slow wave sleep and REM sleep increased and the arousal-awakening index improved. The group without bulbar involvement (non-bulbar) showed the same improvements, together with an increase in sleep efficiency. Nocturnal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels improved in the total and non-bulbar group. Except for oxygen saturation during REM sleep, no improvement in respiratory function or sleep structure was found in bulbar patients. However, these patients showed less room for improvement. Patient-reported outcomes showed improvement in sleep quality and QoL for the total and non-bulbar group, while bulbar patients only reported improvements in very few subscores.ConclusionsThis study shows an improvement of sleep architecture, carbon dioxide, and nocturnal oxygen saturation at the end of NIV titration and after one month of NIV in ALS patients. More studies are needed to identify the appropriate time to start NIV in bulbar patients. Our results suggest that accurate titration of NIV by PSG improves sleep quality.CommentaryA commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 511.
Project description:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is characterized by the progressive loss of cells in the brain and spinal cord that leads to debilitation and death in 3 - 5 years. Only one therapeutic drug, riluzole, has been approved for ALS and this drug improves survival by 2 - 3 months. The need for new therapeutics that can postpone or slow the progression of the motor deficits and prolong survival is still a strong unmet medical need.Although there are a number of drugs currently in clinical trials for ALS, this review provides an overview of the most promising biological targets and preclinical strategies that are currently being developed and deployed. The list of targets for ALS was compiled from a variety of websites including individual companies that have ALS programs and include those from the author's experience.Progress is being made in the identification of possible new therapeutics for ALS with recent efforts in understanding the genetic causes of the disease, susceptibility factors and the development of additional preclinical animal models. However, many challenges remain in the identification of new ALS therapeutics including: the use of relevant biomarkers, the need for an earlier diagnosis of the disease and additional animal models. Multiple strategies need to be tested in the clinic in order to determine what will be effective in patients.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE39642: NanoString nCounter immune-related gene expression in blood sorted CD14+CD16- monocytes from sALS, fALS and HC subjects GSE39643: NanoString miRNA profiling of peripheral blood sorted CD14+CD16- monocytes from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis and healthy control subjects Refer to individual Series
Project description:amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to death within a few years after diagnosis. Malnutrition and weight loss are frequent and are indexes of poor prognosis. Total body fat and fat distribution have not been studied in ALS patients.Our aim was to describe adipose tissue content and distribution in ALS patients.We performed a cross-sectional study in a group of ALS patients (n?=?62, mean disease duration 22 months) along with age and gender matched healthy controls (n?=?62) using a MRI-based method to study quantitatively the fat distribution.Total body fat of ALS patients was not changed as compared with controls. However, ALS patients displayed increased visceral fat and an increased ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat was not correlated with clinical severity as judged using the ALS functional rating scale (ALS-FRS-R), while subcutaneous fat in ALS patients correlated positively with ALS-FRS-R and disease progression. Multiple regression analysis showed that gender and ALS-FRS-R, but not site of onset, were significant predictors of total and subcutaneous fat. Increased subcutaneous fat predicted survival in male patients but not in female patients (p<0.05).Fat distribution is altered in ALS patients, with increased visceral fat as compared with healthy controls. Subcutaneous fat content is a predictor of survival of ALS patients.
Project description:Identification of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated genes. Post mortem spinal cord grey matter from sporadic and familial ALS patients compared with controls. Keywords: other
Project description:Objective: Lead exposure has been hypothesized to increase the risk of ALS, but only two studies have examined the association with ALS survival, and with inconsistent results. The use of occupational history to assess lead exposure can avoid reverse causation that may occur in epidemiologic analyses that use biomarkers of lead exposure collected after ALS onset.Methods: We evaluated the relationship of occupational lead exposure to ALS survival among 135 cases from an international ALS cohort that included deep phenotyping, careful follow-up, and questionnaires to quantify participants' occupation history. ALS patients were recruited in 2015-2019. We determined occupational lead exposure using a job-exposure matrix. We estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for survival using Cox proportional hazard analysis with adjustment for covariates.Results: A total of 135 ALS patients completed the environmental questionnaires, among whom 38 reached a survival endpoint (death or permanent assisted ventilation). The median survival was 48.3 months (25th-75th percentile, 30.9-74.1). Older patients and those with initial symptom other than limb onset had shorter survival time. There were 36 ALS cases with occupational lead exposure. After adjusting for age, sex, site of onset, smoking, and military service, lead exposure was associated with an HR of 3.26 (95%CI 1.28-8.28). Results with adjustment for subsets of these covariates were similar.Conclusions: These results suggest that lead exposure prior to onset of ALS is associated with shorter survival following onset of ALS, and this association is independent of other prognostic factors.