Table 1.
Participant demographics and clinical characteristics
| Characteristics | Participants with ALS (n=23) | Healthy controls (n=23) |
| Age, median (range), years | 67 (45–73) | 64 (43–76) |
| Sex, n | ||
| Male | 16 | 14 |
| Female | 7 | 9 |
| Site of onset | ||
| Limb | 20 | – |
| Bulbar | 3 | |
| Disease distribution clinically | ||
| Bulbar and limb involvement | 11 | – |
| Limb only involvement | 12 | |
| Disease duration, median (range), months | 17 (9–39) | – |
| Slow vital capacity, median (range), % | 79 (61–127) | – |
| UMN score, median (range), out of a maximum of 16 points | 8 (3–16) | – |
| Total MRC power score, median (range), out of a maximum of 220 points | 188 (91–220) | – |
| ALSFRS-R, median (range), out of a maximum of 48 points | 40 (25–46) | – |
| ∆ALSFRS-R, median (range) | 0.37 (0.09–1.33) | – |
| ECAS total, median (range), out of a maximum of 136 points | 133 (88–135) | – |
ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALSFRS-R, Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale; ∆ALSFRS-R, rate of change per month in the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale; ECAS, Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen; MRC, Medical Research Council; UMN, upper motor neuron.