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Spencer PS, Palmer VS, Kisby GE, Lagrange E, Horowitz BZ, Valdes Angues R, Reis J, Vernoux JP, Raoul C, Camu W. Early-onset, conjugal, twin-discordant, and clusters of sporadic ALS: Pathway to discovery of etiology via lifetime exposome research. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1005096. [PMID: 36860617 PMCID: PMC9969898 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1005096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The identity and role of environmental factors in the etiology of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) is poorly understood outside of three former high-incidence foci of Western Pacific ALS and a hotspot of sALS in the French Alps. In both instances, there is a strong association with exposure to DNA-damaging (genotoxic) chemicals years or decades prior to clinical onset of motor neuron disease. In light of this recent understanding, we discuss published geographic clusters of ALS, conjugal cases, single-affected twins, and young-onset cases in relation to their demographic, geographic and environmental associations but also whether, in theory, there was the possibility of exposure to genotoxic chemicals of natural or synthetic origin. Special opportunities to test for such exposures in sALS exist in southeast France, northwest Italy, Finland, the U.S. East North Central States, and in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. Given the degree and timing of exposure to an environmental trigger of ALS may be related to the age at which the disease is expressed, research should focus on the lifetime exposome (from conception to clinical onset) of young sALS cases. Multidisciplinary research of this type may lead to the identification of ALS causation, mechanism, and primary prevention, as well as to early detection of impending ALS and pre-clinical treatment to slow development of this fatal neurological disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter S. Spencer
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States,Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States,*Correspondence: Peter S. Spencer,
| | - Valerie S. Palmer
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Glen E. Kisby
- College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, Lebanon, OR, United States
| | - Emmeline Lagrange
- Department of Neurology, Reference Center of Neuromuscular Disease and ALS Consultations, Grenoble University Hospital, Grenoble, France
| | - B. Zane Horowitz
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Oregon-Alaska Poison Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Raquel Valdes Angues
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Jacques Reis
- University of Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Paul Vernoux
- Normandie Université, UNICAEN, Unité de Recherche Aliments Bioprocédés Toxicologie Environnements, Caen, France
| | - Cédric Raoul
- INM, University of Montpellier, INSERM, Montpellier, France
| | - William Camu
- ALS Reference Center, Montpellier University Hospital and University of Montpellier, INSERM, Montpellier, France
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Fernandes PM, Macleod MR, Bateman A, Abrahams S, Pal S. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a case report from Scotland. BMC Neurol 2017; 17:64. [PMID: 28356084 PMCID: PMC5372255 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-017-0847-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is rare, with significant effects on psychological and care needs. We report a case of conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease from central Scotland. This case is particularly unusual as both patients were diagnosed within an 18-month period and experienced the disease simultaneously, with similar symptomatology and progression. Case presentation Patient A was a 71-year-old man who presented with unilateral arm weakness and wasting. Patient B was a 68-year-old woman who presented with unilateral shoulder and elbow weakness. Diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was made within a few months of presentation in both cases, based on typical clinical symptomatology together with supportive neurophysiological testing. Interventions included enteral feeding and non-invasive ventilation. The time period between symptom onset and death was 5 years for Patient A and 3.5 years for Patient B. Conclusion This case illustrates two main points: the care issues surrounding cases of conjugal neurological disease, and the psychological issues in these patients. There are significant care issues arising when co-habiting couples both develop severe functionally limiting neurological diseases at the same time. The more slowly progressive nature of Patient A’s disease may be at least partially explained by the support he was able to receive from Patient B before she developed symptoms. Secondly, there are important psychological effects of living with someone with the same – but more advanced – progressive and incurable neurological disease. Thus, Patient B was reluctant to have certain interventions that she had observed being given to her husband. Lastly, no plausible shared environmental risk factors were identified, implying that the co-occurrence of ALS in this couple was a random association.
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Affiliation(s)
- P M Fernandes
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
| | - M R Macleod
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh & NHS Forth Valley, Edinburgh, UK
| | - A Bateman
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
| | - S Abrahams
- Psychology - School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, and Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - S Pal
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, and Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, University of Edinburgh & NHS Forth Valley, Edinburgh, UK
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3
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Dewitt JD, Kwon J, Burton R, Stroup JS. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent) 2012; 25:31-3. [PMID: 22275781 DOI: 10.1080/08998280.2012.11928778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the motor cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. The incidence of sporadic ALS is 1.5 to 2.7 in 100,000, and the prevalence is 5.2 to 6.0 in 100,000. Conjugal ALS is even rarer than sporadic ALS. We report a case of conjugal ALS encountered in our outpatient neurology clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Dewitt
- Department of Internal Medicine, Oklahoma State University Medical Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Kwon, Burton, Stroup). Dr. Dewitt is a neurologist in private practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Godeiro-Junior C, Oliveira AS, Felicio AC, Chieia MA, Gabbai AA. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Brazil. ARQUIVOS DE NEURO-PSIQUIATRIA 2009; 67:1045-8. [DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2009000600015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2009] [Accepted: 08/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The origin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains unknown, although it seems to be multifactorial. The role of environmental factors has been frequently investigated and suspicion of its influence can be obtained when clusters of a rare disease are described. OBJECTIVE: To describe conjugal cases of ALS in Brazil. METHOD: We describe 2 couples in which both spouses were affected by ALS. Both couples had lived in southeast Brazil and were married for at least 20 years. RESULTS: There was a great variability in clinical presentation of ALS in our patients. In both couples the interval between disease onsets was short. No precise environmental factors could be identified at the origin of these conjugal cases. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of ALS in couples living in the same area may be epidemiologically important, but we cannot exclude that cases may be due to a chance association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clecio Godeiro-Junior
- Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil; Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
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Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a late onset, rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal neurological disorder, caused by the loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Familial aggregation of ALS, with an age-dependent but high penetrance, is a major risk factor for ALS. Familial ALS (FALS) is clinically and genetically heterogeneous. Three genes and linkage to four additional gene loci have been identified so far and may either predominantly lead to ALS (ALSI-ALS6) or cause multisystem neurodegeneration with ALS as an occasional symptom (tauopathies, ALS-dementia complex). This review presents a tentative classification of the "major" ALS genes and ALS "susceptibility" genes, that may act as susceptibility factors for neurodegeneration in interaction with other genetic or environmental risk factors. Considering that mutations in ALS genes explain approximately 10% of familial as well as sporadic ALS, and most remaining cases of the discase are thought to result form the interaction of several genes and environmental factors, ALS is a paradigm for multifactorial discases.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Majoor-Krakauer
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Rachele MG, Mascia V, Tacconi P, Dessi N, Marrosu F, Giagheddu M. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a report on a couple from Sardinia, Italy. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES 1998; 19:97-100. [PMID: 10935845 DOI: 10.1007/bf02427565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A conjugal case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) observed in Sardinia, Italy is reported. This is believed to be the ninth such observation described in the literature. The couple had lived together for 38 years in a house adjacent to the distillery they owned. No exogenous factors were revealed which could explain the genesis of the disease in either patients. Particularly, exposure to alcohol does not appear to have been involved in causing ALS. On the basis of statistical and epidemiological evaluations, the most likely explanation is that this association was purely coincidental.
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Affiliation(s)
- M G Rachele
- Institute of Neurology, University of Cagliari, Italy
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Poloni M, Micheli A, Facchetti D, Mai R, Ceriani F, Cattalini C. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: toxic clustering or change? ITALIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES 1997; 18:109-12. [PMID: 9239532 DOI: 10.1007/bf01999572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
We describe a southern Italian couple, married for 28 years, who developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) within 30 months of each other. They had drunk water taken from an artesian well for nearly thirty years. Samples of the water were investigated in the search for heavy metals and pesticides using high performances liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and absorption spectrometry. No heavy metals, pesticides or known environmental toxic substances were found in significant concentration. This would seem to support the view that conjugal ALS in Caucasians is due to mere coincidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Poloni
- III Clinica Neurologica, Università di Milano, Ospedale San Paolo, Italy
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