Search results for "AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS"

The capacity to consent to treatment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a preliminary report

2020

Background: Facing the relentless worsening of their condition, ALS patients are required to make decisions on treatments and end-of-life care. A cognitive impairment showed to be a negative prognostic factor in ALS patients, perhaps affecting the ability to make informed decisions. Notwithstanding its crucial role, the capacity to consent to treatment (CCT) has never been evaluated in these patients. Objectives: To assess the CCT in an ALS cohort in comparison to a control group, and to study the effects of demographic and clinical variables on this high-level cognitive function. Methods: 102 ALS patients and 106 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. CCT was assessed using the MacArthur Com…

Inflammatory mediators as biomarkers in brain disorders.

2013

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington are incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive death of the neurons. The definite diagnosis of a neurodegenerative disorder is disadvantaged by the difficulty in obtaining biopsies and thereby to validate the clinical diagnosis with pathological results. Biomarkers are valuable indicators for detecting different phases of a disease such as prevention, early onset, treatment, progression, and monitoring the effect of pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention. Inflammation occurs in neurodegenerative diseases, and identification and validation of molecules…

Repeated courses of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Clinical and biological results from a prospective multic…

2011

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) induces a transient mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells from bone marrow to peripheral blood. Our aim was to evaluate safety of repeated courses of G-CSF in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), assessing disease progression and changes in chemokine and cytokine levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Twenty-four ALS patients entered an open-label, multicenter trial in which four courses of G-CSF and mannitol were administered at 3-month intervals. Levels of G-CSF were increased after treatment in the serum and CSF. Few and transitory adverse events were observed. No significant reduction of the mean monthly decrea…

Tau protein as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2020

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To test the hypothesis that total tau (tTau), tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (pTau) and pTau/tTau ratio in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we performed a retrospective observational study in a large cohort of ALS patients and controls. METHODS We enrolled 196 ALS patients and 91 controls, who included patients with ALS-mimicking diseases and those with non-neurodegenerative diseases. All patients underwent lumbar puncture for CSF analysis at the time of the diagnostic evaluation or to first referral. We measured tTau and pTau levels in the CSF by chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay. R…

Non-invasive ventilation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

2006

SVC Is a Marker of Respiratory Decline Function, Similar to FVC, in Patients With ALS

2019

Copyright © 2019 Pinto and de Carvalho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2010

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of unknown origin that affects approximately 1.5 individuals per 100,000 every year; usually, these individuals are between 55 and 75 years of age [1]. ALS causes progressive weakness of voluntary muscle groups, including respiratory ones, and respiratory failure or pneumonia related to respiratory muscle weakness is the most frequent cause of death.

Reaching and Grasping a Glass of Water by Locked-In ALS Patients through a BCI-Controlled Humanoid Robot

2017

Locked-in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients are fully dependent on caregivers for any daily need. At this stage, basic communication and environmental control may not be possible even with commonly used augmentative and alternative communication devices. Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology allows users to modulate brain activity for communication and control of machines and devices, without requiring a motor control. In the last several years, numerous articles have described how persons with ALS could effectively use BCIs for different goals, usually spelling. In the present study, locked-in ALS patients used a BCI system to directly control the humanoid robot NAO (Aldebar…

Poor Bone Quality in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2020

Objective: Musculoskeletal functional deterioration in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is associated with an increase in bone fractures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of sex, ALS type, on bone quality in patients with ALS compared to healthy controls. The impact on bone health of the clinical status and some metabolic parameters was also analyzed in ALS patients.Methods: A series of 33 voluntary patients with ALS, and 66 healthy individuals matched in sex and age underwent assessment of bone mass quality using quantitative ultrasound (QUS) of the calcaneus. Ultrasonic broadband attenuation (BUA), the speed of sound (SOS), stiffness index and T-score were measur…

Distinct Incidence of Takotsubo Syndrome Between Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Synucleinopathies : A Cohort Study

2018

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute cardiac syndrome characterized by regional left ventricular dysfunction with a peculiar circumferential pattern, which typically results in apical ballooning. Evidence indicates a pivotal role of catecholamines in TTS, and researchers have discussed multiple hypotheses on the etiology, including multivessel coronary spasm, myocardial stunning, excessive transient ventricular afterload, and cardiac sympathetic overactivity with local noradrenaline spillover. Although central nervous system disorders, such as stroke and epilepsy, are known to trigger TTS, the incidence and clinical features of TTS in neurodegenerative disorders are poorly understood. Here,…