Table 2.
Longitudinal ALS cohort: patient characteristics and stratification according to ALSFRS_R-based clinimetrics
| Groups (progression rate at the last visit; PRL)** (Mean±SEM) | Patient number | Time points, range | Age of onsetNS (mean±SEM) | Gender, F/M | Disease duration at baseline: (onset to baseline sampling)** (months; mean±SEM) | Diagnostic latency* (months; mean±SEM) | ALSFRS_R at baseline** (mean±SEM) | Ethnicity, non-Caucasian (%) | Site of onset, bulbar/limb/both |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALS-Fast (1.252±0.06) | 18 | 2–8 | 64.7±1.6 | 7/11 | 12.2±1.5 | 7.8±1.0 | 35.4±1.7 | 0 | 5/12/1 |
| ALS-Intermediate (0.706±0.02) | 24 | 2–6 | 63.4±2.4 | 10/14 | 22.0±1.7 | 15.4±1.6 | 34.7±1.6 | 0 | 4/20/0 |
| ALS-Slow (0.276±0.02) | 32 | 2–11 | 61.1±1.9 | 6/26 | 29.2±2.6 | 17.8±2.1 | 41.2±1.1 | 5.80 | 8/26/1 |
Patients with ALS followed up longitudinally are subgrouped according to the PRL: ALS-Fast (PRL>1.0), ALS-Intermediate (PRL 0.5–1.0) and ALS-Slow (PRL<0.5). The three groups of patients differ with regard to in the ALSFRS_R score at baseline, disease duration and diagnostic latency. There is no difference in age of between patients groups *p<0.01, **p<0.0001, NS: not significant. Kruskal–Wallis test.
ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALSFRS_R, ALS functional rating scale revised; PRL, progression rate at the last visit.