Multimodal assessment of autonomic dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
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Abstract
Methods: Thirty-seven ALS patients and 40 healthy sex- and age-matched controls were included. NMS were studied with the NMS assessment scale for Parkinson's disease and an autonomic subscale was calculated. Cardioautonomic innervation at rest and whilst standing was assessed by different parameters of heart rate variability. Morphological changes (cross-sectional area) of the vagus and median nerves for control were measured with high-resolution ultrasound.
Results: Non-motor symptoms in general were more frequent in ALS patients and correlated inversely with the ALS Functional Rating Scale whereas the autonomic subscore of the NMS assessment scale for Parkinson's disease did not differ between the two groups and was not related to functional impairment. Cardioautonomic assessment solely revealed an increased heart rate at rest in ALS patients, whereas the other heart rate variability parameters did not differ from controls. Structural sonographic investigation of the vagus and median nerves was similar in both groups.
Conclusions: Using a multimodal approach evidence was found for a rather mild cardio- sympathetic overactivity in ALS patients. Overall, autonomic dysfunction seems to be subtle and is not related to the functional state of ALS patients.
Bibliographical data
Original language | English |
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ISSN | 1351-5101 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |