Limb onsetĪround 70% of people with ALS have what’s known as “limb onset” ALS. Each one is associated with a different set of symptoms at the time of diagnosis. As motor neurons become damaged, a person with ALS will start to have difficulty with voluntary movements in their limbs, mouth, or throat. According to the National Organization for Rare Diseases, more studies are needed to understand who’s affected by ALS globally.īoth sporadic and familial ALS are associated with a progressive loss of motor neurons. Race and ethnicity: Research suggests that white people are more likely to receive an ALS diagnosis than people of other racial or ethnic groups.Sex: According to statistics that group people into male and female categories, ALS is more common among males than females.The onset of symptoms in ALS usually occurs between the ages of 55 and 75, although symptoms can occur earlier. Age: The likelihood of receiving an ALS diagnosis increases with age.Research on other possible environmental triggers is ongoing. Some research suggests that smoking is a risk factor for ALS. Military veterans are thought to be at higher risk for ALS, though the reasons for this are unclear.

imbalances in the chemical messenger glutamate.

Some factors that scientists think might contribute to ALS include: Other causes of ALS aren’t well understood. Only about 5% to 10% of ALS cases are familial. That means no specific cause is known.įamilial ALS happens when the condition is inherited from a parent. I think it makes sense from a clinician perspective to treat metabolic syndrome and maybe expect-I don't know for certain-maybe expect that they will have some beneficial ramifications into improving their asthma control or their lung function.ALS can be classified as either sporadic or familial. Again, more epidemiologically, but there's some phase 2 studies that are ongoing. That drug has been associated with reduced eosinophil exacerbations in people that take it. That works more on the managing glycemic space. That's been shown mostly epidemiologically, but there's ongoing clinical trials in that space. But also, there are mechanisms that relate to inflammatory pathways and metabolic pathways, whereas GLP-1 can potentially reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with metabolic syndrome and obesity. That's been shown to, for one, enhance weight loss. Liraglutide, which is a GLP-1 agonist to improve insulin sensitivity, it’s been used to treat patients with non–insulin dependent diabetes. For example, let me give you an idea of one: liraglutide. Then if somebody has metabolic syndrome and asthma, there are potentially some newer treatments that could affect both diseases. They have to lose at least 5% to 8% of baseline body weight. I think from a provider perspective, it is the idea that you need to encourage in patients who have asthma and obesity, weight loss, because certainly weight loss in many patients improves metabolic syndrome profiling. Somehow they didn't really benefit from the weight loss. But when you look at those that, in spite of losing weight, continue to have risk factors for metabolic syndrome, regardless of which one those were, those patients remain at a higher risk of losing control. What's interesting is that as weight loss happens, asthma control improves. Those patients underwent surgery and lost a significant amount of weight and were followed for up to 5 years. The study had around 2500 people that underwent bariatric surgery, of which about 550 had asthma. We did a study, not too long ago, using data from the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery study. How can understanding metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for pulmonary disease translate into provider/patient pulmonary disease management? Holguin discussed these topics at this year's American Thoracic Society (ATS) meeting. From a provider perspective, you need to encourage patients who have asthma and obesity to lose weight, said Fernando Holguin, MD, a pulmonologist and critical care doctor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Lou garrison disease