Body composition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis subjects and its effect on disease progression and survival.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Motor neuron degeneration and malnutrition alter body composition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Resulting losses of weight, fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass (FFM) shorten survival. Nutritional management relies on body weight or BMI; neither reliably indicates malnutrition nor differentiates body compartments.

Objectives

We aimed to 1) develop an equation to compute FM and FFM using clinical data, validated against DXA; and 2) examine the effect of computed FM and FFM on disease course and survival.

Methods

We studied 364 ALS patients from 3 cohorts. In Cohort #1 we used logistic regression on clinical and demographic data to create an equation (test cohort). In Cohort #2 we validated FM and FFM computed using this equation against DXA (validation

SUBMITTER: Tandan R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9071423 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature