Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of different groups of patients with lower limb onset ALS.
| Groups | Gender ratio, male:female | Onset age (years) | Diagnostic delay (months) | Bilateral LL Onset, n (%) | ALSFRS-R score | Babinski's sign, n (%) | Brisk deep tendon reflex of LL, n (%) | Decreased deep tendon reflex of LL, n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLS (n = 29) | 1.4:1 | 49.6 ± 9.4 | 25(5,60) | 8(27.6) | 40.1 ± 5.3 | 11(37.9) | 10(34.5) | 15(51.7) |
| Typical LL onset | ||||||||
| ALS (n = 157) | 1.3:1 | 52.9 ± 11.2 | 11(2,43)* | 28(17.8) | 36.6 ± 6.4* | 69(43.9) | 70(44.6) | 60(38.2) |
| Statistics | 0.037† | 1.485‡ | 5.047§ | 1.491† | 2.723‡ | 0.362† | 1.019† | 1.856† |
| p | 0.847 | 0.139 | <0.001 | 0.222 | 0.007 | 0.548 | 0.313 | 0.173 |
Values are presented as n (%), mean ± SD or median (minimum, maximum).
*p-value for the contrast of variables between patients with FLS and patients with typical lower limb onset ALS; p < 0.05, as compared with patients with FLS. χ2-values;
‡t-values;
§Z-values. ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; LL, lower limb; ALSFRS-R, ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised; FLS, flail leg syndrome; SD, standard deviation.