Reference values for nerve conduction studies of the peroneal, tibial, and sural nerve derived from a large population-based cohort: Associations with demographic and anthropometric characteristics-The Maastricht study.

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Nerve conduction studies (NCSs) are widely used to support the clinical diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders. The aims of this study were to obtain reference values for peroneal, tibial, and sural NCSs and to examine the associations with demographic and anthropometric factors. METHODS: In 5099 participants (aged 40-79 years) without type 2 diabetes of The Maastricht Study, NCSs of peroneal, tibial, and sural nerves were performed. Values for compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and sensory nerve action potential amplitude, nerve conduction velocity (NCV), and distal latency were acquired. The association of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and height with NCS values was determined using uni- and multivariate linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Detailed reference values are reported per decade for men and women. Significantly lower NCVs and longer distal latencies were observed in all nerves in older and taller individuals as well as in men. In these groups, amplitudes of the tibial and sural nerves were significantly lower, whereas a lower peroneal nerve CMAP was only significantly associated with age. BMI showed a multidirectional association. After correction for anthropometric factors in the multivariate analysis, the association between sex and NCS values was less straightforward. DISCUSSION: These values from a population-based dataset could be used as a reference for generating normative values. Our findings show the association of NCS values with anthropometric factors. In clinical practice, these factors can be considered when interpreting NCS values.

Cerebral Oximetry and Autoregulation during Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Review.

Postoperative neurological complications (PNCs) following cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a detrimental complication, contributing to increased mortality rates and health care costs. To prevent intraoperative cerebral desaturations associated with PNC, continuous brain monitoring using near-infrared spectroscopy has been advocated. However, clear evidence for a defined desaturation threshold requiring intervention during CPB is still lacking. Since cerebral oximetry readings are nonspecific, cerebral tissue oxygenation values need to be interpreted with caution and in the context of all available clinical information. Therefore, maintaining an intact autoregulatory activity during CPB rather than solely focusing on regional cerebral oxygen saturation measurements will collectively contribute to optimization of patient care during CPB.

Smoking, alcohol consumption, and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a population-based study.

Smoking has been posited as a possible risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but large population-based studies of patients with incident disease are still needed. The authors performed a population-based case-control study in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2009, including 494 patients with incident ALS and 1,599 controls. To prove the relevance of population-based incidence cohorts in case-control studies, the authors compared results with those from cohorts including patients with prevalent ALS and referral patients. Subjects were sent a questionnaire. Multivariate analyses showed an increased risk of ALS among current smokers (odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.88) in the incident patient group only. Cox regression models showed that current smoking was also independently associated with shorter survival (hazard ratio = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.07, 2.15), explaining the lack of association in the prevalent and referral patient groups. Current alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced risk of ALS (incident patient group: odds ratio = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.75). These findings indicate that current smoking is associated with an increased risk of ALS, as well as a worse prognosis, and alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of ALS, further corroborating the role of lifestyle factors in the pathogenesis of ALS. The importance of population-based incident patient cohorts in identifying risk factors is highlighted by this study.

Neurophysiological and paraspinal oximetry monitoring to detect spinal cord ischemia in patients during and after descending aortic repair: An international multicenter explorative study.

BACKGROUND: During descending aortic repair, critically decreased blood flow to the myelum can result in ischemic spinal cord injury and transient or permanent paraplegia. Assessment of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) has been shown to be a valuable tool which allows to detect spinal cord ischemia (SCI) intraoperatively within a therapeutic window suitable to prevent progression to paraparesis or paraplegia. MEP monitoring is not feasible during postoperative care in the awakening patient. Therefore, ancillary techniques to monitor integrity of spinal cord function are needed to detect delayed spinal cord ischemia. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether assessment of long loop reflexes (LLR; F-waves) and paraspinal muscle oximetry using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) are feasible and valid in detecting delayed SCI. METHODS: We aim to include patients from three tertiary referral centers undergoing aortic repair with MEP monitoring in this study.F-wave measurements and paraspinal NIRS oximetry will be operated intra- and postoperatively. Measurement characteristics and feasibility will be assessed in the first 25 patients. Subsequently, a second cohort of 75 patients will be investigated to determine the sensitivity and specificity of F-waves and NIRS in detecting perioperative SCI. In this context for the MEP group SCI is defined intraoperatively as significant MEP changes and postoperatively as newly developed paraplegia. CONCLUSIONS: A clinical study design and protocol is proposed to assess if F-waves and/or NIRS-based paraspinal oximetry are feasible and valid in detecting and monitoring for occurrences of delayed SCI.

What we truly know about occupation as a risk factor for ALS: a critical and systematic review.

Occupational and environmental exposures may contribute to the risk of developing sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To summarize the available evidence, a systematic review of the literature on occupation as a potential determinant of ALS was performed according to the MOOSE guidelines. From MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases, selected studies were methodologically appraised according to Armon's classification system for ALS risk factor studies. Each occupation studied was reclassified according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88). The vote-counting method was applied to summarize the data. Of 3773 potentially relevant studies, 51 were initially included. Of these, 12 studies provided risk estimates for individual occupations--one case-control, two register-based case-control, and nine register-based cohort studies. All studies fell into Armon's level of evidence class IV, indicating methodological limitations. Due to the heterogeneity of study methodology, data could not be pooled. The vote-counting method revealed several candidate occupations: veterinarians and other health workers, athletes, hairdressers, power-production plant, electrical and military workers. However, well designed studies with standardized assessment of occupation are needed to provide a more definitive answer about exogenous risk factors of ALS.

Exposure to chemicals and metals and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review.

Environmental exposure to chemicals and metals may contribute to the risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Two systematic reviews of the literature on these topics performed according to the well-established MOOSE guidelines are presented. Literature cited in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases (up to March 2007) as well as references of relevant articles were screened for case-control or cohort studies investigating the associations between sporadic ALS and exposure to chemical agents or metals. Methodology of selected studies was appraised according to Armon's classification system for ALS risk factor studies as well as a newly developed classification system for quality of exposure assessment. Seven of the 38 studies concerning exposure to chemicals and three of the 50 studies concerning exposure to metals fulfilled the validity criteria. In two independent studies meeting the validity criteria, a significant association with increased ALS risk was reported for exposure to pesticides. This systematic review demonstrated the difficulty in attaining a high level of evidence due to lack of high quality of methodological and exposure assessment components. Although pesticide exposure was identified as candidate risk factor, more well-designed studies are needed to provide a definitive answer about exogenous factors of ALS.

The association between H63D mutations in HFE and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a Dutch population.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in HFE, a gene defect that can disrupt iron metabolism, have been implicated in increasing the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). OBJECTIVE: To further establish the association between ALS and HFE mutations by investigating whether HFE mutations are associated with an increased risk of developing ALS in a population in The Netherlands and by pooling our results with those from previous studies. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center for neuromuscular disorders. PARTICIPANTS: Genotyping for 2 common HFE mutations was performed in 289 patients with ALS and 5886 population-based controls in The Netherlands between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Development of ALS and clinical phenotype were compared among the different HFE genotypes, adjusting for known prognostic factors such as age at onset and sex. RESULTS: Homozygosity for H63D was associated with an increased risk of developing ALS (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-4.1). After pooling our results with those from previous studies, a positive association between H63D homozygotes (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.7-4.4), heterozygotes (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0-2.1), and mutation carriers (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.5) was found. Within the patient group, heterozygosity for the H63D mutation was associated with a higher age at onset. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that H63D mutations in HFE play a role in the pathogenesis of ALS in various populations. This association might involve a later-onset subset of ALS.

Association of IgM monoclonal gammopathy with progressive muscular atrophy and multifocal motor neuropathy: a case-control study.

Monoclonal gammopathy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related disorders has been reported in small studies but the validity of the reported associations remains uncertain. Presence of monoclonal gammopathy may indicate specific pathogenic pathways and may facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies. The objective of this large case-control study was to determine the prevalence of monoclonal gammopathy in motor neuron diseases (MND) and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN). Monoclonal gammopathy was determined by immunoelectrophoresis and immunofixation in serum from 445 patients with ALS, 158 patients with progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), 60 patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), 88 patients with MMN and in 430 matched healthy controls. Anti-ganglioside antibody titers were determined in sera from patients with MMN and PMA, and in ALS and PLS patients with monoclonal gammopathy. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate associations of monoclonal gammopathy with motor neuron diseases and clinical characteristics. Neither ALS nor PLS was associated with monoclonal gammopathy. IgM monoclonal gammopathy was more frequent in patients with PMA (8 %) (OR = 4.2; p = 0.001) and MMN (7 %) (OR = 5.8; p = 0.002) than in controls (2 %). High titers of anti-GM1 IgM antibodies were present in 43 % of MMN patients and 7 % of PMA patients. Patients with PMA and IgM monoclonal gammopathy or anti-GM1 antibodies had a higher age at onset, more often weakness of upper legs and more severe outcome than patients with MMN. PMA and MMN, but not ALS and PLS, are significantly associated with IgM monoclonal gammopathy and anti-GM1 antibodies. These results may indicate that a subset of patients presenting with PMA share pathogenic mechanisms with MMN.

Parental age and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Sporadic ALS is a multifactorial disease for which there are probably multiple genetic risk factors. An association with increased parental age might suggest there is a role for specific (epi)genetic changes. Previous studies have shown conflicting results on the association between parental age and the risk of ALS. A large, population based study might help in the search for specific (epi)genetic risk factors. We performed a population based, case-control study in the Netherlands. Date of birth of both mother and father was retrieved from the National Register. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed in 769 patients with sporadic ALS, 49 patients with a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72, and 1929 age-, gender- and geographically-matched controls. Multivariate analyses showed no difference in either paternal or maternal age at delivery (adjusted for age of subject, age of other parent at delivery, and level of education) in patients with sporadic ALS, nor in patients with a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 compared to controls. In conclusion, parental age was not associated with an increased risk of ALS in our study. (Epi)genetic alterations that are associated with increased parental age are not, therefore, likely to contribute to the aetiology of sporadic ALS.