Cross-sectional area of peripheral nerve in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a case-control study

Abstract Background : This study aims to determine CSA of peripheral nerve and whether CSA could act as a predictor of disease prognosis in patients with ALS. Methods: a total of 139 patients and 75 healthy controls were recruited, 39 patients were lost to follow-up. The ALS functional rating scale Revised (ALS-FRS-R), duration from onset to diagnosis, and survival duration were collected. Peripheral nerve CSAs were measured at the first visit on the bilateral median, and ulnar nerve in ALS patients and controls. Results : Compared to controls, ALS patients had mild reductions of the median nerve and most sites of the ulnar nerve. Another important finding of this study is that the median nerve tends to have a more significant reduction than the ulnar nerve in ALS patients, especially at the proximal. However, no significant correlation was observed between CSAs and ALS-FRS-R/m. The K-M curve indicated no correlation between CSAs and survival in patients with upper limber onset ALS. Conclusions: CSA at the proximal Median nerve may be a promising biomarker in patients with ALS. While Peripheral nerve CSAs of the upper limb were not correlated with survival and severity of disease in patients with ALS. Trial registration: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, approval number (JS-1210).