Disease onset regions and spreading patterns in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and related influencing factors / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the disease onset regions and spreading patterns in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)patients and related influencing factors.Methods We performed a prospective analysis of 1 58 ALS patients.The disease-onset was confirmed according to the patients’self-reports,neurological examination results and electromyogram study.We followed up 1 5 1 patients with the second or other affected body regions during the disease progression.Data were analyzed according to the different groups of onset regions.Results 1.In 94.3% (149/1 58)of the patients,the early motor manifestations were focally in the bulbar,upper or lower limbs.2.The region of onset was associated with signs of lower motor neuron (LMN)and upper motor neuron (UMN)involvement (P = 0.000 ).The LMN involvement was more distinctive in patients with bulbar onset (65.4%,1 7/26 )group.Patients with cervical onset more frequently showed pure LMN (47.9%,45/94 )or concomitant UMN (52.1%,49/94)signs in the affected limbs.The highest proportion of UMN and LMN signs in the affected lower limb was found in the lumbar onset (83.8%,31/37 )group.3.Spreading patterns:Rostral to caudal spreading pattern was more frequent in bulbar onset patients.For patients with limb onset,there were significant differences between spreading patterns and disease-onset regions (P =0.04).Circular (31.5%,28/89),horizontal (30.3%,31/89)and vertical (21.3%,1 9/89)spreading patterns were more frequent in cervical onset patients whereas circular (47.2%,1 7/36)spreading patterns were more frequent in lumbar onset patients.4.There was a strong association between the rate of progression and age of disease onset (P =0.01 1).Patients aged over 60 had a faster progression.Conclusion ALS is a focal process at motor axis along the spinal cord and cerebral cortex.Different disease-onset can cause different distribution of UMN and LMN signs.Therefore,special attention should be paid to the signs of disease-onset clinically.ALS does start focally and spreads to adjacent regions.Elder patients have a faster disease progression.