Intermuscular coherence as an early biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: The protocol for a prospective, multicenter study.

oleh: Naoum P Issa, Serdar Aydin, Eric Polley, Nathan Carberry, Mark A Garret, Sean Smith, Ali A Habib, Nicholas W Baumgartner, Betty Soliven, Kourosh Rezania

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01

Deskripsi

<h4>Objective</h4>To describe the protocol of a prospective study to test the validity of intermuscular coherence (IMC) as a diagnostic tool and biomarker of upper motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).<h4>Methods</h4>This is a multicenter, prospective study. IMC of muscle pairs in the upper and lower limbs is gathered in ∼650 subjects across three groups using surface electrodes and conventional electromyography (EMG) machines. The following subjects will be tested: 1) neurotypical controls; 2) patients with symptomatology suggestive for early ALS but not meeting probable or definite ALS by Awaji Criteria; 3) patients with a known ALS mimic. The recruitment period is between 3/31/2021 and 12/31/2025. Written consent will be sought from the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative during enrollment.<h4>Results</h4>The endpoints of this study include: 1) whether adding IMC to the Awaji ALS criteria improve its sensitivity in early ALS and can allow for diagnosis earlier; 2) constructing a database of IMC across different ages, genders, and ethnicities.<h4>Significance</h4>This study may validate a new inexpensive, painless, and widely available tool for the diagnosis of ALS.