Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of all study participants.
| Healthy controls (n = 19) | ALS patients (n = 35) | ||
| Mean±SD (range) | Mean±SD (range) | ||
| Age (years) | 53.1±10.5 (33-67) | 50.8±13.0 (26-78) a | |
| Sex (male/female) | 14/5 | 28/7 b | |
| Site of onset (n) | Bulbar | 5 (14%) | |
| Cervical | 18 (51%) | ||
| Lumbosacral | 12 (35%) | ||
| Side of onset (n) | Left | 19 (54%) | |
| Right | 9 (26%) | ||
| Symmetrical | 7 (20%) | ||
| Disease duration (months) | 17.7±18.0 (3-59) | ||
| ALSFRS-R | 40.1±4.3 (30-47) | ||
| Progression rate | 0.6±0.5 (0.1-2.0) | ||
SD = standard deviation. ALSFRS-R = revised ALS functional rating scale.
a
comparison of age between the groups, did not result show any significant differences (t-test statistics, p = 0.49).
b
the proportion males and females is not significantly different in patients versus controls (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.42).