Objective: Recent studies widely demonstrate that the pattern of progression in sporadic ALS patients is unsolved mystery, especially what factors influence the progression of the disease, therefore we investigated 60 ALS patients who were evaluated with the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) for disease progression and investigated factors contributing to its rapid rate, directed to The First University Clinic of Tbilisi State Medical University during years 2019-2022.
Methods: Overall 60 patients with ALS were investigated, among them 31 male (51%), 29 female (49%), aged 21-84, Riluzole takers, sporadic ALS, Brain MRI, and electrophysiological studies were done in all patients. Patients were diagnosed with Gold Coast Criteria, and evaluated with the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) Patient survey for factors affecting disease progression was filled with a help of the patient /caregiver (a disease-specific questionnaire was invented for this purpose, investigating probable progression modifiers).
Results: It has been established that recent falls-trauma, surgery, and infection have a drastic impact on disease progression, ALS was found to be a not linear progressive disease and can vary in individuals with ALS, we have found that 5% of patients had improvement in ALSFRS-revised, not explained by medication, nor lifestyle change.
Conclusion: The rate of ALS progression appears to be a mystery by itself, predicting the progression rate, and the factors affecting it would be beneficial for ALS patients and may even bring chances to slow or halt the progression, further research is essential.
Keywords
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R)