Secular Trends of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: The Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta Register

Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: an Original Study

OBJECTIVE

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is still incurable. Although different therapies can affect the health and survival of patients. Our aim is to evaluate the effect of umbilical mesenchymal stem cells administrated intrathecally to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on disability development and survival.

METHODS

This case-control study involved 67 patients treated with Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSC). The treated patients were paired with 67 reference patients from the PRO-ACT database which contains patient records from 23 ALS clinical studies (phase 2/3). Patients in the treatment and reference groups were fully matched in terms of race, sex, onset of symptoms (bulbar/spinal), FT9 disease stage at the beginning of therapy and concomitant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis medications. Progression rates prior to treatment varied within a range of ± 0.5 points. All patients received three intrathecal injections of Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells every two months at a dose of 30 × 106 cells. Patients were assessed using the ALSFRS-R scale. Survival times were followed-up until March 2020.

RESULTS

Median survival time increased two-fold in all groups. In terms of progression, three response types measured in ALSFRS-R were observed: decreased progression rate (n = 21, 31.3%), no change in progression rate (n = 33, 49.3%) and increased progression rate (n = 13, 19.4%). Risk-benefit ratios were favorable in all groups. No serious adverse drug reactions were observed.

INTERPRETATION

Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells therapy is safe and effective in some ALS patients, regardless of the clinical features and demographic factors excluding sex. The female sex and a good therapeutic response to the first administration are significant predictors of efficacy following further administrations. Graphical Abstract Medical therapeutic experiment with retrospective case-control analyses.

The Characteristics of Cognitive Impairment in ALS Patients Depend on the Lateralization of Motor Damage

(1) Background: Cognitive features of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have never been specifically analyzed according to the lateralization of motor impairment. In the present study we investigated the cognitive performances of ALS patients to describe the relationship between motor and cognitive dysfunction, according to site and side of disease onset. (2) Methods: Six-hundred and nine ALS patients underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation at diagnosis in Turin ALS Centre Tests included—mini-mental state examination (MMSE), frontal assessment battery (FAB), trail-making test A/B (TMT A-B), digit span forward and backward (digit span FW/digit span BW), letter fluency test (FAS), category fluency test (CAT), Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT), Babcock story recall test (BSRT), Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test (ROCFT), Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), Raven’s coloured progressive matrices (CPM47). Cognitive performances of patients, grouped by side and site of onset, were statistically compared using z-scores, as appropriate. (3) Results: Bulbar patients and bilateral spinal onset patients (S_bil) were generally characterized by lower cognitive performances in most neuropsychological tests, when compared to patients with lateralized onset (right-side spinal onset, S_ri and left-side spinal onset, S_le). Digit span backward and visual memory task (ROCFT) median z-scores were significantly higher, reflecting a better cognitive performance, in S_ri patients when compared to bulbar/S_bil patients, while verbal memory tasks (RAVLT and BRST) resulted in significantly higher scores in S_le patients. Our results are in keeping with hemispheric functional lateralization of language and visuospatial abilities. (4) Conclusions: In ALS patients, as in other neurodegenerative diseases, we found a direct relationship between lateralized motor and cognitive features.

Exploiting mutual information for the imputation of static and dynamic mixed-type clinical data with an adaptive k-nearest neighbours approach

BACKGROUND

Clinical registers constitute an invaluable resource in the medical data-driven decision making context. Accurate machine learning and data mining approaches on these data can lead to faster diagnosis, definition of tailored interventions, and improved outcome prediction. A typical issue when implementing such approaches is the almost unavoidable presence of missing values in the collected data. In this work, we propose an imputation algorithm based on a mutual information-weighted k-nearest neighbours approach, able to handle the simultaneous presence of missing information in different types of variables. We developed and validated the method on a clinical register, constituted by the information collected over subsequent screening visits of a cohort of patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

METHODS

For each subject with missing data to be imputed, we create a feature vector constituted by the information collected over his/her first three months of visits. This vector is used as sample in a k-nearest neighbours procedure, in order to select, among the other patients, the ones with the most similar temporal evolution of the disease over time. An ad hoc similarity metric was implemented for the sample comparison, capable of handling the different nature of the data, the presence of multiple missing values and include the cross-information among features captured by the mutual information statistic.

RESULTS

We validated the proposed imputation method on an independent test set, comparing its performance with those of three state-of-the-art competitors, resulting in better performance. We further assessed the validity of our algorithm by comparing the performance of a survival classifier built on the data imputed with our method versus the one built on the data imputed with the best-performing competitor.

CONCLUSIONS

Imputation of missing data is a crucial -and often mandatory- step when working with real-world datasets. The algorithm proposed in this work could effectively impute an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinical dataset, by handling the temporal and the mixed-type nature of the data and by exploiting the cross-information among features. We also showed how the imputation quality can affect a machine learning task.

Genetics and Sex in the Pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): Is There a Link?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with no known cure. Approximately 90% of ALS cases are sporadic, although multiple genetic risk factors have been recently revealed also in sporadic ALS (SALS). The pathological expansion of a hexanucleotide repeat in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) is the most common genetic mutation identified in familial ALS, detected also in 5–10% of SALS patients. C9orf72-related ALS phenotype appears to be dependent on several modifiers, including demographic factors. Sex has been reported as an independent factor influencing ALS development, with men found to be more susceptible than women. Exposure to both female and male sex hormones have been shown to influence disease risk or progression. Moreover, interplay between genetics and sex has been widely investigated in ALS preclinical models and in large populations of ALS patients carrying C9orf72 repeat expansion. In light of the current need for reclassifying ALS patients into pathologically homogenous subgroups potentially responsive to targeted personalized therapies, we aimed to review the recent literature on the role of genetics and sex as both independent and synergic factors, in the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and prognosis of ALS. Sex-dependent outcomes may lead to optimizing clinical trials for developing patient-specific therapies for ALS.

Increased risk and early onset of ALS in professional players from Italian Soccer Teams

Objective: Since the observation of several deaths from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among Italian professional soccer players, an association between ALS and soccer has been postulated. The objective of the study is to investigate the association between professional soccer and the risk of ALS in a large cohort of former professional soccer players with prolonged follow-up. Methods: All professional soccer players practicing in the period 1959-2000 were identified through the archives of an Italian soccer cards publisher. For each player, date and place of birth, playing role, and team history were recorded. Each player was followed since 15 years of age. Incident ALS cases were all soccer players first diagnosed during the period 1959-2018. The expected incidence rate was the number of ALS cases/100,000 person-years expected in the cohort. SIR was the ratio between observed and expected incidence rate. Results: 34 ALS cases were detected. The number of expected cases was 17.8. The SIR was 1.91 (95% CI 1.32-2.67) in the entire sample and 4.66 (95% CI 2.66-7.57) in subjects aged less than 45 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 45.0 years. Compared to the mean age of onset of ALS in the general population (65.2 years), the disease in former soccer players occurred 20.2 years earlier. Conclusions: Professional soccer players are at higher risk of developing ALS than the general population. Soccer players with ALS develop the disease at a younger than expected age.

G-CSF (filgrastim) treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: protocol for a phase II randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, multicentre clinical study (STEMALS-II trial)

INTRODUCTION

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal progressive neurological disorder characterised by a selective degeneration of motor neurons (MNs). Stem cell transplantation is considered as a promising strategy in neurological disorders therapy and the possibility of inducing bone marrow cells (BMCs) to circulate in the peripheral blood is suggested to investigate stem cells migration in degenerated ALS nerve tissues where potentially repair MN damage. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a growth factor which stimulates haematopoietic progenitor cells, mobilises BMCs into injured brain and it is itself a neurotrophic factor for MN. G-CSF safety in humans has been demonstrated and many observations suggest that it may affect neural cells. Therefore, we decided to use G-CSF to mobilise BMCs into the peripheral circulation in patients with ALS, planning a clinical trial to evaluate the effect of G-CSF administration in ALS patients compared with placebo.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

STEMALS-II is a phase II multicentre, randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group clinical trial on G-CSF (filgrastim) and mannitol in ALS patients. Specifically, we investigate safety, tolerability and efficacy of four repeated courses of intravenous G-CSF and mannitol administered in 76 ALS patients in comparison with placebo (indistinguishable glucose solution 5%). We determine increase of G-CSF levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid as CD34⁺ cells and leucocyte count after treatment; reduction in ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised Score, forced vital capacity, Scale for Testing Muscle Strength Score and quality of life; the adverse events/reactions during the treatment; changes in neuroinflammation biomarkers before and after treatment.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria 'Città della Salute e della Scienza', Torino, Italy. Results will be presented during scientific symposia or published in scientific journals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Eudract 2014-002228-28.

Clinical and Lifestyle Factors and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease of the motor neurons. The etiology of ALS remains largely unknown, particularly with reference to the potential environmental determinants. Methods: We performed a population-based case-control study in four provinces from both Northern and Southern Italy in order to assess non-genetic ALS risk factors by collecting through tailored questionnaires information about clinical and lifestyle factors. We estimated ALS risk by calculating odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) using unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age and educational attainment. Results: We recruited 230 participants (95 cases and 135 controls). We found a possible positive association of ALS risk with trauma, particularly head trauma (OR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.19–5.72), electric shock (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 0.62–7.06), and some sports, although at a competitive level only. In addition, our results suggest an increased risk for subjects reporting use of private wells for drinking water (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 0.73–2.27) and for use of herbicides during gardening (OR = 1.95, 95% CI 0.88–2.27). Conversely, there was a suggestion of an inverse association with overall fish consumption (OR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.12–0.60), but with no dose-response relation. Consumption of some dietary supplements, namely those containing amino acids and, in the Southern Italy population, vitamins and minerals such as selenium, seemed associated with a statistically imprecise increased risk. Conclusions: Our results suggest a potential etiologic role a number of clinical and lifestyle factors with ALS risk. However, caution is needed due to some study limitations. These include the small sample size and the low number of exposed subjects, which affect statistical precision of risk estimates, the potential for exposure misclassification, and the uncertainties about mechanisms underpinning the possible association between these factors and disease risk.

ALS phenotype is influenced by age, sex, and genetics: A population-based study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the determinants of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) phenotypes in a population-based cohort.

METHODS

The study population included 2,839 patients with ALS diagnosed in Piemonte, Italy (1995-2015). Patients were classified according to motor (classic, bulbar, flail arm, flail leg, predominantly upper motor neuron [PUMN], respiratory) and cognitive phenotypes (normal, ALS with cognitive impairment [ALSci], ALS with behavioral impairment [ALSbi], ALSci and ALSbi combined [ALScbi], ALS-frontotemporal dementia [FTD]). Binary logistic regression analysis was adjusted for sex, age, and genetics.

RESULTS

Bulbar phenotype correlated with older age (p < 0.0001), women were more affected than men at increasing age (p < 0.0001), classic with younger age (p = 0.029), men were more affected than women at increasing age (p < 0.0001), PUMN with younger age (p < 0.0001), flail arm with male sex (p < 0.0001) and younger age (p = 0.04), flail leg with male sex with increasing age (p = 0.008), and respiratory with male sex (p < 0.0001). C9orf72 expansions correlated with bulbar phenotype (p < 0.0001), and were less frequent in PUMN (p = 0.041); SOD1 mutations correlated with flail leg phenotype (p < 0.0001), and were less frequent in bulbar (p < 0.0001). ALS-FTD correlated with C9orf72 (p < 0.0001) and bulbar phenotype (p = 0.008), ALScbi with PUMN (p = 0.014), and ALSci with older age (p = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that the spatial-temporal combination of motor and cognitive events leading to the onset and progression of ALS is characterized by a differential susceptibility to the pathologic process of motor and prefrontal cortices and lower motor neurons, and is influenced by age, sex, and gene variants. The identification of those factors that regulate ALS phenotype will allow us to reclassify patients into pathologically homogenous subgroups, responsive to targeted personalized therapies.

Global variation in prevalence and incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a global disease, which adversely affects the life quality of patients and significantly increases the burden of families and society. We aimed to assess the changing incidence, prevalence of ALS around the world.

METHODS

We searched Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane library to identify articles published until September 9, 2018. Each included study was independently reviewed for methodological quality by two reviewers. We used a random-effects model to summarize individual studies and assessed heterogeneity (I²) with the χ² test on Cochrane's Q statistic.

RESULTS

We identified 124 studies that were eligible for final inclusion, including 110 studies of incidence and 58 studies of prevalence. The overall crude worldwide ALS prevalence and incidence were 4.42 (95% CI 3.92-4.96) per 1,00,000 population and 1.59 (95% CI 1.39-1.81) per 1,00,000 person-years, respectively. ALS prevalence and incidence increased by age until the age of 70-79. Since 1957, incidence has been significantly rising year by year, and this upward trend was weakened after standardization. The longest survival time were in Asia (ranging from 3.74 years in South Asia to 9.23 years in West Asia).

CONCLUSIONS

With the aggravation of population aging and the rapid growth of economy, developing regions following the development pattern of the developed regions may suffer rising ALS prevalence and incidence which may increase their disease burden as well. These data highlight the need for research into underlying mechanism and innovations in health-care systems.

A retrospective study of the clinical phenotype and predictors of survival in non-Caucasian Hispanic patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the clinical phenotype of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in non-Caucasian populations. Here, we aimed to describe the clinical characteristics, prognostic factors and survival of Mexican patients with ALS.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study by reviewing the medical records of patients with ALS that attended and were regularly followed at a third level hospital in Mexico City from 2000 to 2015. We calculated absolute and relative frequencies of the clinical characteristics from all the participants. We also estimated correlation coefficients between clinical features and overall survival. Additionally, survival rates were compared for all participants grouped according to different clinical features using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test.

RESULTS

We enrolled 45 ALS patients, 53.33% had spinal-onset ALS and 46.66% presented bulbar ALS. The male/female ratio was 0.8. The mean age at onset of symptoms was 58.11 years. Mean survival time from onset was 64.73 ± 34.83 months. Cumulative survival rate after 5 years of disease onset was 44.44%. Age at onset and age at diagnosis inversely correlated with overall survival time. Also, we found that bulbar-onset, short diagnostic delay, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, mechanical ventilation, and lower total cholesterol serum levels were associated with short survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical characteristics of Mexican ALS patients differ from the disease phenotype observed in Caucasians. Nonetheless, the predictive value of certain well-recognized prognostic factors remains consistent in our population. The current study provides relevant information for a better understanding of prognostic factors in ALS patients from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Cognitive impairment across ALS clinical stages in a population-based cohort

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association of the degree of severity of motor impairment to that of cognitive impairment in a large cohort of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

METHODS

This is a population-based cross-sectional study on patients with ALS incident in Piemonte, Italy, between 2007 and 2015. Cognitive status was classified according to the revised ALS-FTD Consensus Criteria. The King system and the Milano Torino Staging system (MiToS) were used for defining the severity of motor impairment.

RESULTS

Of the 797 patients included in the study, 163 (20.5%) had ALS-frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 38 (4.8%) cognitive and behavioral impairment (ALScbi), 132 (16.6%) cognitive impairment (ALSci), 63 (7.9%) behavioral impairment (ALSbi), 16 (2.0%) nonexecutive impairment, and 385 (48.2%) were cognitively normal. According to King staging, the frequency of cases with ALS-FTD progressively increased from 16.5% in stage 1-44.4% in stage 4; conversely, the frequency of ALSci, ALSbi, and ALScbi increased from King stage 1 to King stage 3 and decreased thereafter. A similar pattern was observed with the MiToS staging. ALS-FTD was more frequent in patients with bulbar involvement at time of cognitive testing. Patients with C9ORF72 expansion (n = 61) showed more severe cognitive impairment with increasing King and MiToS stages.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that ALS motor and cognitive components may worsen in parallel, and that cognitive impairment becomes more pronounced when bulbar function is involved. Our data support the hypothesis that ALS pathology disseminates in a regional ordered sequence, through a cortico-efferent spreading model.

Validation of the revised classification of cognitive and behavioural impairment in ALS

OBJECTIVE

In 2017, the diagnostic criteria for cognitive and behavioural impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with frontotemporal dementia (ALSFTD-1) have been modified (ALSFTD-2) with the inclusion of a novel category (ALS with combined cognitive and behavioural impairment, ALScbi) and with changes of operational criteria of the other categories (ALS with cognitive impairment (ALSci), ALS with behavioural impairment (ALSbi) and ALS with frontotemporal dementia (ALS-FTD)). We compared the two sets of criteria to assess the effect of the revised criteria on the cognitive classification of patients with ALS.

METHODS

Two cohorts of patients with ALS were included in this study: a population-based cohort including patients identified through the Piemonte/Valle d'Aosta register for ALS in the 2014-2017 period (n=321), and a referral cohort recruited at the Turin ALS centre and at the ALS centre of the Maugeri Institute in Milan in the same period (n=205). Cognitive function was classified in blind by two neuropsychologists expert in ALS.

RESULTS

ALSFTD-2 criteria determined a shift of about 15% of patients from their original category to a new one. In both cohorts, about 9% of patients were reclassified to the novel category ALScbi. Among patients previously classified as cognitively normal, 14 (4.3%, population-based cohort) and 19 (9.3%, referral cohort) were reclassified as ALSbi or ALSci. The median survival of the different categories was significantly different with both with sets of criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

The new ALSFTD-2 criteria, compared with the old ones, have positive effects on the clinical practice being more sensitive to the early cognitive impairment and having a better prognostic yield.

Comparative Analysis of C9orf72 and Sporadic Disease in a Large Multicenter ALS Population: The Effect of Male Sex on Survival of C9orf72 Positive Patients

We investigated whether the C9orf72 repeat expansion is associated with specific clinical features, comorbidities, and prognosis in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A cohort of 1417 ALS patients, diagnosed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013 by 13 Italian ALS Referral Centers, was screened for the C9orf72 repeat expansion, and the analyses were performed comparing patients carrying this expansion (ALS-C9Pos) to those negative for this and other explored ALS-related mutations (ALS without genetic mutations, ALSwoGM). Compared to the ALSwoGM group, ALS-C9Pos patients (n = 84) were younger at disease onset, at the first clinical observation and at diagnosis (p < 0.001). After correcting for these differences, we found that ALS-C9Pos patients had higher odds of bulbar onset, diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and family history of ALS, FTD, and Alzheimer's disease and had lower odds of spinal onset, non-invasive ventilation, hypertension and psychiatric diseases than ALSwoGM patients. Among these variables, those related to shorter survival time were: bulbar onset, presence of FTD, hypertension, psychiatric disease, and family history of ALS (p < 0.05). Cox proportional hazards regression multivariate analysis suggested that carrying the C9orf72 repeat expansion was an independent factor negatively impacting on survival time in men (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.07–2.33, p = 0.021), but not in women (p > 0.05) as well as in the whole sample (p > 0.05). When compared to ALSwoGM, ALS-C9Pos showed an earlier disease onset, no significant diagnostic delay and a higher odds of bulbar onset, FTD and family history of ALS and dementia. Moreover, male sex drove the negative effect of expanded variant on survival, confirming the hypothesis that sex is likely to be a crucial factor in the biology of C9orf72-related disease.

Predicting the future of ALS: the impact of demographic change and potential new treatments on the prevalence of ALS in the United Kingdom, 2020-2116

Objective: To model the effects of demographic change under various scenarios of possible future treatment developments in ALS. Methods: Patients diagnosed with ALS at the King’s College Hospital Motor Nerve Clinic between 2004 and 2017, and living within the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, and Lewisham (LSL), were included as incident cases. We also ascertained incident cases from the Canterbury region over the same period. Future incidence of ALS was estimated by applying the calculated age- and sex-specific incidence rates to the UK population projections from 2020 to 2116. The number of prevalent cases for each future year was estimated based on an established method. Assuming constant incidence, we modelled four possible future prevalence scenarios by altering the median disease duration for varying subsets of the population, to represent the impact of new treatments. Results: The total number of people newly diagnosed with ALS per year in the UK is projected to rise from a baseline of 1415 UK cases in 2010 to 1701 in 2020 and 2635 in 2116. Overall prevalence of ALS was predicted to increase from 8.58 per 100,000 persons in 2020 to 9.67 per 100,000 persons in 2116. Halting disease progression in patients with C9orf72 mutations would yield the greatest impact of the modelled treatment scenarios, increasing prevalence in the year 2066 from a baseline of 9.50 per 100,000 persons to 15.68 per 100,000 persons. Conclusions: Future developments in treatment would combine with the effects of demographic change to result in more people living longer with ALS.

Epidemiology of ALS in Korea using nationwide big data

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the incidence, prevalence and survival time of Korean patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) data.

METHODS

Using NHIS data, the Korean nationwide health dataset, we identified patients with motor neuron diseases who were first diagnosed with a KCD-6 code (G12.20-G12.28; modified from ICD-10 codes) between 2011 and 2015. ALS (G12.21 code) epidemiological characteristics, including annual incidence, prevalence, mortality rates and survival time, were analysed and compared with sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

New patients with ALS (n=3049) were enrolled over 5 years. The mean annual incidence was 1.20/100 000, and the sex ratio was 1.60 (male:female). The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 61.4 years. The prevalence rate was 3.43/100 000 in 2015. In this period, riluzole was prescribed to 53.6% of patients with ALS. Furthermore, 20.3% of patients with ALS underwent tracheostomy. When analysed for age and socioeconomic status, ALS prevalence rate was 10.71 in the aged group (≥60) in 2015 and was lowest in the middle-income group compared with that in the high-income and low-income groups. The estimated mean survival time in this population was 50.0 months, and the 3-year and 5-year mortality rates were 52.1% and 63.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first nationwide survey for epidemiological characteristics of ALS in Korea using national data. The use of these data substantially advances the understanding of Korean and Asian ALS epidemiology and its relationship with socioeconomic status, age and sex.

Changing epidemiology of motor neurone disease in Scotland

OBJECTIVES

Scotland benefits from an integrated national healthcare team for motor neurone disease (MND) and a tradition of rich clinical data capture using the Scottish MND Register (launched in 1989; one of the first national registers). The Scottish register was re-launched in 2015 as Clinical Audit Research and Evaluation of MND (CARE-MND), an electronic platform for prospective, population-based research. We aimed to determine if incidence of MND is changing over time.

METHODS

Capture-recapture methods determined the incidence of MND in 2015-2016. Incidence rates for 2015-2016 and 1989-1998 were direct age and sex standardised to allow time-period comparison. Phenotypic characteristics and socioeconomic status of the cohort are described.

RESULTS

Coverage of the CARE-MND platform was 99%. Crude incidence in the 2015-2017 period was 3.83/100,000 person-years (95% CI 3.53-4.14). Direct age-standardised incidence in 2015 was 3.42/100,000 (95% CI 2.99-3.91); in 2016, it was 2.89/100,000 (95% CI 2.50-3.34). The 1989-1998 direct standardised annual incidence estimate was 2.32/100,000 (95% CI 2.26-2.37). 2015-2016 standardised incidence was 66.9% higher than Northern European estimates. Socioeconomic status was not associated with MND.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data show a changing landscape of MND in Scotland, with a rise in incidence by 36.0% over a 25-year period. This is likely attributable to ascertainment in the context of improved neurological services in Scotland. Our data suggest that CARE-MND is a reliable national resource and findings can be extrapolated to the other Northern European populations.

A case of progressive non-fluent aphasia as onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with frontotemporal dementia

The association between Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ASL) and FrontoTemporal Dementia (FTD) is well known. Most of reports describing ASL-FTD cases show a strong association between ALS and the behavioural form of FTD. Conversely, the association between ALS and pure Semantic Dementia or Progressive Non-Fluent Aphasia (PNFA) is extremely rare, ranging from 1 to 3%. A clinical phenotype characterized by a rapidly progressive aphasic dementia and motoneuron disease (MND) has been described in few case reports; since the updating of PNFA diagnostic criteria in 2011, no clinical report has been related. We want to describe a case of patient presented, at the onset, as PNFA who developed, one year later, ALS with bulbar onset. The patient was screened for the main genes causing or associated with MND and/or dementia but no variants with a pathogenetic effect were observed.

Effects of early introduction of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation based on forced vital capacity rate of change: Variation across amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinical phenotypes

PURPOSE

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the ability of pulmonary function tests to predict disease progression by ALS clinical phenotypes, and the timing of the introduction of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cohort study was performed in all adult patients who fulfilled El Escorial criteria at a tertiary-care academic medical centre for veterans in the USA from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. Eligible patients underwent sitting and supine forced vital capacity (FVC) and the FVC rate of change (RoC) per month was calculated. ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) scores were collected.

RESULTS

A total of 137 patients were included in our analysis. The average survival from ALS onset was 31.40 (±40.04) months. The general cohort median (IQR) RoC was -0.87 (-2.55 to 0.34)/-0.65 (-2.55 to 0.70) % per month (P = 0.81) of the sitting/supine FVC, respectively. However, mean monthly RoC varied among the ALS phenotypes, with higher variation among global ALS, where greater decline in RoC was noted. The average time from ALS onset to tracheostomy was 27.88 (±22.21) months. The average sitting/supine FVC RoC for subjects requiring tracheostomy was -2.86 (±3.77)/-3.63 (±3.75) at the time of tracheostomy, compared to -1.190 (±2.38)/-1.07 (±3.78) for those who did not require the procedure. Although NIPPV use did not result in statistically significant improvements in either the sitting or supine FVC %, it did slow the RoC decline of patients with global ALS phenotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

Initiation of NIPPV based on decline in RoC rather than the absolute value of either sitting or supine FVC may result in early stabilisation of ALS patients' pulmonary deterioration for the global clinical phenotype, and thus may have the potential for prolonging survival until tracheostomy or death.

An epidemiologic investigation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Thrace, Turkey, 2006-2010

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence and prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Thrace, Turkey in a five-year time period (2006-2010).

METHODS

Study population included residents of three provinces (Edirne, Tekirdag, Kırklareli) in the Thrace region. Cases were ascertained from all of the neurologic centers and hospitals of these provinces. Demographic and clinical information was collected for each patient. Newly diagnosed ALS patients who are fulfilling the El Escorial revised diagnostic criteria were enrolled into the study.

RESULTS

We identified a total of 145 patients (93 males, 52 females). The mean age at diagnosis was 57.0 ± 13.6. According to El Escorial criteria, 60.0% of the cases were definite ALS, 24.8% were probable, and 15.2% were possible ALS. Thirty-two cases were bulbar (22.1%), 113 cases (77.9%) were spinal onset. Mean time delay from onset to diagnosis was 12.0 ± 11.2 months. Age-gender standardized incidence rates with reference to Turkey, USA 2008 census were 1.9 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8-2.1), 1.9 (95%CI, 1.8-2.2) for overall. There were 112 living ALS patients at the end of the study. Crude point prevalence was calculated as 7.3 per 100,000 population (95%CI, 5.9-8.7).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to provide fundamental data about demographic and clinical characteristics about ALS in Thrace region of Turkey. Incidence and prevalence of ALS in Thrace region of Turkey appear to be comparable with European countries.

Epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, North-Eastern Italy, 2002-2014: a retrospective population-based study

OBJECTIVES

To describe the epidemiology of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) region, Italy, over a 13-year period (2002-2014), estimating ALS (a) incidence, prevalence, and clinical features; (b) mortality, also comparing Udine municipality to the rest of FVG.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective population-based study. ALS incident cases were ascertained using multiple sources and validated through expert review. We calculated crude and standardized incidence rate (IR), point prevalence and mortality rate (MR), each with 95% confidence interval. Standardized incidence (SIR) and mortality (SMR) ratio were calculated to compare Udine to FVG.

RESULTS

Among 444 incident cases (50.0% men, median age 68.5 years), onset was bulbar in 30.2%, spinal in 59.9%, mixed in 9.9%; 3.6% had familial ALS. Crude and 2000 European population standardized IR was respectively 2.81 (2.56-3.09) and 2.09 (1.89-2.29) per 100,000 person-years. Standardized male-to-female incidence ratio was 1.05. IR peaked at age 65-74 years (men: 9.93, 8.04-12.32; women: 7.74, 6.18-9.67) and decreased thereafter. Prevalence was 8.36 (6.74-9.97) cases per 100,000 inhabitants on 30 June 2009 and 7.98 (6.40-9.56) on 30 June 2014. SIR was 1.20 and SMR 1.11.

CONCLUSIONS

When assessed over a long period, incidence of ALS was in the range of Italian and European population-based registries and showed a consistent pattern by age and sex. IR and MR were only slightly higher in Udine vs. FVG.

Epidemiology and diagnostic process of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as distinct from myelopathy: 5-year cohort study of whole-population in South Korea

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the incidence, prevalence, and demographic factors of all amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients diagnosed in South Korea from 2011 to 2015, and to analyze cases misdiagnosed as myelopathy.

METHODS

The whole population registered under the Korean National Health Insurance Service (KNHIS) was applied. All 4551 patients who were registered as having ALS code from 2011 to 2015 were included. For all ALS patients, the incidence, prevalence, and demographic factors were assessed. Trends of diagnosis for myelopathy, and surgery prior to confirmation of ALS diagnosis were identified.

RESULTS

When the whole 48,135,715 KNHIS population enrolled in 2015, the incidence of ALS in 2015 was estimated to be 1.68 per 100,000 person-years, and the prevalence was 6.49 per 100,000 persons. Life expectancy of ALS can be calculated as 3.9 years after the diagnosis, and the mean age of diagnosis was 59.5 ± 13.1. A total of 1902 patients diagnosed with myelopathy before a diagnosis of ALS accounted for 0.13% of all myelopathy patients, and 41.8% of all ALS patients. It took an average of 471.7 d to confirm a diagnosis of ALS after the myelopathy diagnosis. Among the patients finally diagnosed with ALS, more patients underwent surgery for myelopathy (n = 263, 13.8%) than among patients who were diagnosed with myelopathy alone, and underwent surgery (n = 141,148, 9.8%).

CONCLUSIONS

This whole-population nationwide demographic study confirmed the data from previous studies. Clinicians should consider the possibility of ALS when making a myelopathy diagnosis, especially if the symptoms are sufficiently severe to require surgery.

Body mass index and survival from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A meta-analysis

Background

Several studies have examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and survival from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Many indicate that low BMI at diagnosis or during follow-up may be associated with accelerated progression and shortened survival. This study systematically evaluated the relationship between BMI and survival in patients with ALS.

Methods

The PubMed database was searched to identify all available studies reporting time-to-event data. Eight studies with 6,098 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria. BMI was considered a continuous and ordered variable. Interstudy heterogeneity was assessed by the Cochran Q test and quantified by the I² metric. Fixed- or random-effects odds ratios summarized pooled effects after taking interstudy variability into account. Significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

The ALS survival hazard ratio (HR) decreased approximately by 3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2%-5%) for each additional BMI unit when BMI was considered a continuous variable. When BMI was considered a categorical variable, the HRs for "normal" BMI vs "overweight" BMI and "obese" BMI were estimated to be as high as 0.91 (95% CI: 0.79-1.04) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.60-1.01), respectively. The HR for the comparison of the "normal" BMI vs "underweight" BMI was estimated to be as high as 1.94 (95% CI: 1.42-2.65).

Conclusions

BMI is significantly and inversely associated with ALS survival.

Age-dependent sex ratios of motor neuron disease: French nationwide study and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relation of age with male-to-female (M/F) ratios and incidence rates of motor neuron disease (MND) in a French nationwide study and meta-analysis of incidence studies.

METHODS

We used data from the French National Health Insurance databases. Patients with incident MND (2010-2014) were identified based on drug claims (riluzole), hospitalization records, death records, and long-term chronic disease benefits. We estimated age-specific M/F incidence ratios using Poisson regression. Poisson, Gompertz, and multistep models were used to model the relation between age and incidence. We performed a meta-analysis (n = 28 studies) and used meta-regression to examine the relation of age with incidence rates and ratios.

RESULTS

In France, we identified 10,848 patients with incident MND (6,021 men, 4,827 women). Incidence was higher in men than in women in all age groups. M/F ratios were significantly different across age groups and followed a quadratic trend (p < 0.001). Between 20 and 49 years, the average M/F ratio was 2.26 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.96-2.62); it was 1.41 (95% CI = 1.35-1.47) between 50 and 84 years, and 1.88 (95% CI = 1.64-2.17) after 85 years. Incidence was lower in women than men at younger ages, but increased more steeply in women than men. Similar patterns were observed in the meta-analysis of incidence studies, especially in 19 higher-quality studies.

CONCLUSION

The relation between age and M/F incidence ratios of MND follows a quadratic U-shaped pattern with an abrupt drop after the fifth decade. The change in M/F ratios before and after menopause suggests that reproductive/hormonal protective factors have a role in women and should prompt further studies to explore this hypothesis.

Spatial analyses of ALS incidence in Denmark over three decades

OBJECTIVE

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the motor neuron with very few known risk factors. We conducted a spatial epidemiologic analysis of ALS incidence in Denmark to assess the contribution of sociodemographic determinants to geographic variation.

METHODS

We analyzed 4249 ALS cases (1982-2013), each with 100 controls matched on sex and birth year. Odds ratio and 95% confidence bands at birth and diagnosis/index locations were calculated using generalized additive models. We included a bivariate spatial smooth for location in our conditional logistic regression adjusted for socioeconomic status and marital status. We also conducted analyses adjusted for both birth and diagnosis addresses to separate location effects.

RESULTS

We observed significantly elevated ALS odds near Copenhagen for both the birth and diagnosis period analyses. Sociodemographic factors did not explain the observed patterns. When we further adjusted our spatial analyses by including both birth and diagnosis addresses, the significant area of elevated male ALS odds by birth address shifted to northwest Denmark away from Copenhagen, and there was little evidence of variation among women. Geographic variation at diagnosis differed between male and females, suggesting that patterns are not just due to regional variation in case ascertainment.

CONCLUSION

ALS incidence in Denmark is associated with both location at birth and diagnosis, suggesting that geographic variation may be due to exposures occurring at birth or closer to diagnosis, although the latter could relate to case ascertainment issues.

Spatial epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Piedmont and Aosta Valley, Italy: a population-based cluster analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The analysis of the spatial distribution of cases could give important cues on putative environmental causes of a disease. Our aim was to perform a spatial analysis of an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cohort from the Piedmont and Aosta Valley ALS register (PARALS) over a 20-year period.

METHODS

The address at the moment of diagnosis was considered for each ALS case. Municipalities' and census divisions' resident populations during the 1995-2014 period were obtained. A cluster analysis was performed adopting both Moran's index and the Kulldorff spatial scan statistic.

RESULTS

A total of 2702 ALS patients were identified. An address was retrieved for 2671 (99%) patients. Moran's index was -0.01 (P value 0.83), thus revealing no clusters. SaTScan identified no statistically significant clusters. When census divisions were considered, Moran's index was 0.13 (P value 0.45); SaTScan revealed one statistically significant small cluster in the province of Alessandria. Here, 0.0099 cases were expected and three cases were observed (relative risk 304.60; 95% confidence interval 109.83-845.88, P value 0.03).

DISCUSSION

Our study showed a substantial homogeneous distribution of ALS cases in Piedmont and Aosta Valley. The population-based setting and the adoption of proper statistical analyses strengthen the validity of our results. Such a finding further suggests the involvement of multiple environmental and genetic factors in ALS pathogenesis.