Demographic characteristics of the cohorts
| Characteristics | Patients with ALS (n=33) | Healthy controls (n=44) | Patients with bulbar onset (n=13) | Patients with limb onset (n=20) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (male:female) | 18:15 | 24:20 | 4:9 | 14:6 |
| Age at MRI scan | 60.79 (13.46) | 60.21 (9.66) | 63.24 (6.98) | 59.20 (16.37) |
| Handedness (right:left) | 30:3 | 41:3 | 11:2 | 19:1 |
| Education (1-primary 2-secondary 3-higher) | 2.15 (0.66) | 2.18 (0.69) | 1.93 (0.64) | 2.3 (0.65) |
| Disease duration (months) From onset of symptoms to scan | 29.78 (23.91) | N/A | 21.59 (7.28) | 35.11 (29.22) |
| Age at onset of symptoms | 58.31 (13.95) | N/A | 61.44 (6.93) | 56.27 (16.92) |
| Total ALSFRS | 35.75 (7.04) | N/A | 36.53 (5.85) | 35.25 (7.82) |
| ALSFRS bulbar score | 8.66 (3.13) | N/A | 5.53 (2.25) | 10.7 (1.52) |
| ALSFRS respiratory score | 10.87 (1.31) | N/A | 10.46 (1.61) | 11.15 (1.0) |
| Upper Limb score | 8.45 (3.62) | N/A | 10.69 (1.54) | 7 (3.86) |
Values are given in mean (SD) format where appropriate.
ALSFRS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale, range of total ALSFRS: 0–48; range of bulbar scores 0–12, range of respiratory scores 0–12, range of upper limb scores 0–12.