TABLE 2.
Comparison of total cord area (TCA), and gray (GM) and white matter (WM) areas of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and healthy control subjects (n = 36, respectively) via independent t‐tests, and relative reductions of TCA, GM area, and WM area.
| TCA level | Group | Mean TCA /SD, mm2 | SE | Difference | SE of the difference | p | 95% CI | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C2C3 |
ALS HC |
75.93/8.76 84.21/6.56 |
1.46 1.09 |
−8.27 | 1.82 | <0.001 | −11.92 | −4.63 |
| C3C4 |
ALS HC |
77.26/7.77 88.13/7.85 |
1.31 1.31 |
−10.87 | 1.85 | <0.001 | −14.57 | −7.18 |
| C4C5 |
ALS HC |
80.24/9.11 88.83/8.62 |
1.56 1.44 |
−8.59 | 2.12 | <0.001 | −12.82 | −4.36 |
| C5C6 |
ALS HC |
75.98/9.66 85.44/7.29 |
1.66 1.22 |
−9.45 | 2.04 | <0.001 | −13.52 | −5.39 |
| T max |
ALS HC |
55.31/8.30 62.54/6.93 |
1.42 1.17 |
−7.23 | 1.84 | <0.001 | −10.90 | −3.56 |
| GM area level | ||||||||
| C2C3 |
ALS HC |
14.21/1.72 15.67/1.61 |
0.29 0.27 |
−1.46 | 0.39 | <0.001 | −2.24 | −0.68 |
| C3C4 |
ALS HC |
16.68/2.23 19.67/2.70 |
0.38 0.45 |
−2.99 | 0.59 | <0.001 | −4.17 | −1.82 |
| C4C5 |
ALS HC |
18.14/2.13 20.52/2.44 |
0.36 0.41 |
−2.38 | 0.55 | <0.001 | −3.48 | −1.29 |
| C5C6 |
ALS HC |
17.04/2.27 19.91/1.95 |
0.39 0.32 |
−2.86 | 0.50 | <0.001 | −3.87 | −1.86 |
| T max |
ALS HC |
20.25/3.32 25.28/3.33 |
0.57 0.56 |
−5.03 | 0.80 | <0.001 | −6.63 | −3.43 |
| WM area level | ||||||||
| C2C3 |
ALS HC |
61.72/7.80 68.53/5.61 |
1.30 0.94 |
−6.81 | 1.60 | <0.001 | −10.00 | −3.62 |
| C3C4 |
ALS HC |
60.58/6.03 68.46/6.46 |
1.02 1.08 |
−7.88 | 1.48 | <0.001 | −10.84 | −4.92 |
| C4C5 |
ALS HC |
62.10/7.87 68.31/6.93 |
1.35 1.15 |
−6.20 | 1.77 | <0.001 | −9.74 | −2.67 |
| C5C6 |
ALS HC |
58.94/8.20 65.53/6.05 |
1.41 1.01 |
−6.59 | 1.71 | <0.001 | −10.01 | −3.17 |
| T max |
ALS HC |
35.06/5.88 37.26/4.60 |
1.01 0.78 |
−2.20 | 1.27 | 0.088 | −4.73 | 0.34 |
| Relative reductions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | rr TCA, % | rr GM area, % | rr WM area, % |
| C2C3 | 9.8 | 9.3 | 9.9 |
| C3C4 | 12.2 | 15.1 | 11.4 |
| C4C5 | 10.0 | 11.8 | 9.5 |
| C5C6 | 11.4 | 14.7 | 10.5 |
| T max | 11.8 | 20.2 | 6.1 |
Note: p values after Bonferroni correction with a significance level of <0.0033 are marked bold.
Abbreviations: ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; CI, confidence interval of the difference between TCA means; GM, gray matter; HC, healthy control; rr, relative reduction; SE, standard error; TCA, total cord area; WM, white matter.