Quantifying disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using peripheral nerve sonography
Corresponding Author
Stefanie Schreiber MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
The first 2 authors (S.S. and D.D.-S.) contributed equally to this study.
Correspondence to: S. Schreiber; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorVerena Dannhardt-Stieger MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
The first 2 authors (S.S. and D.D.-S.) contributed equally to this study.
Search for more papers by this authorDorothea Henkel MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorGrazyna Debska-Vielhaber PhD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorJudith Machts MSc
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorSusanne Abdulla MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorSiegfried Kropf PhD
Institute of Biometry and Medical Informatics, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorKatja Kollewe MD
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorSusanne Petri MD
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorHans-Jochen Heinze MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorReinhard Dengler MD
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorPeter J. Nestor MD
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorStefan Vielhaber MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Stefanie Schreiber MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
The first 2 authors (S.S. and D.D.-S.) contributed equally to this study.
Correspondence to: S. Schreiber; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorVerena Dannhardt-Stieger MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
The first 2 authors (S.S. and D.D.-S.) contributed equally to this study.
Search for more papers by this authorDorothea Henkel MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorGrazyna Debska-Vielhaber PhD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorJudith Machts MSc
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorSusanne Abdulla MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorSiegfried Kropf PhD
Institute of Biometry and Medical Informatics, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorKatja Kollewe MD
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorSusanne Petri MD
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorHans-Jochen Heinze MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorReinhard Dengler MD
Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorPeter J. Nestor MD
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorStefan Vielhaber MD
Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases within the Helmholtz Association, Magdeburg, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorThis work was supported by a grant from the Foundation of Medical Research, Frankfurt/Main, Germany (to S.V.). S.S. was funded by a grant from the German Research Foundation (SCHR 1418/3-1).
ABSTRACT
Introduction: In this study we investigated whether peripheral nerve sonography could be used as a biomarker to monitor disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: In 37 patients, ulnar and median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) was determined in at least 2 ultrasound sessions; mean follow-up was 14.5 months. Linear mixed-effects models were conducted to analyze time effects on CSA. Results: Ulnar nerve CSA declined significantly at a monthly rate of –0.04 mm2 (forearm) and –0.05 mm2 (wrist); the decrease was more pronounced when baseline CSA was greater. To detect a 50% treatment effect on ulnar nerve CSA, 332 patients would need to be entered in a hypothetical randomized, controlled clinical trial. Time had no significant impact on median nerve CSA. Conclusions: Distal ulnar nerve ultrasound may be a useful biomarker to monitor disease progression in ALS, especially as hypothetical treatment effects on CSA seem to be detectable in manageable cohort sizes. Muscle Nerve 54: 391–397, 2016
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