People with rapid weight loss in the earlier stages of amyotophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — before invasive ventilation is needed to support breathing — are more likely to have a poorer prognosis in its later stages than those who don’t, a study reports.
The study, “Body weight variation predicts disease progression after invasive ventilation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” were published in Scientific Reports.
As ALS progresses and patients lose motor neurons, nerve cells of the spinal cord and brain responsible for voluntary muscle control, respiratory muscles like those of the diaphragm will be affected.
Oxford Biodynamics PLC (LON:OBD) was spun out from Oxford University in June 2007 with the aim of translating fundamental scientific advances into a commercialised platform technology and a new generation of biomarkers for cancer and other diseases. OBD has been granted a substantial funding award from Innovate UK to develop and validate diagnostic, prognostic and predictive EpiSwitch™ biomarkers for ALS.