ALS patient and caregiver attitudes toward physician-hastened death in California.

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Since 2016, six states have legalized physician-hastened death (PHD). Neuromuscular disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are common diagnoses for patients who use PHD, but how patients with ALS view PHD in California has not been systematically studied. We aimed to quantify how many patients with ALS and their caregivers have considered PHD and to assess reasons to consider using or not using it. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study at one ALS center surveying patients with ALS and their caregivers. Data on disease characteristics, demographics, quality of life, and depression were also collected. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Qualitative data were also collected and analyzed. Patients were followed up longitudinally to assess if they died or if they used PHD. RESULTS: A small majority of ALS patients surveyed had considered or would consider using PHD (16/30). Patients most commonly described having intolerable symptoms, being a burden on their loved ones, and losing independence as reasons to consider using PHD. Many patients shared that "their life has purpose" and "they are making the most of their lives" as to why they are not considering PHD. Considering PHD was not related to disease severity or depression. On longitudinal follow-up, 10 of the 30 patients have died, and none have used PHD. DISCUSSION: Pursuing PHD is a personal decision for each individual patient. This study shows that considering PHD is relatively common in ALS patients, independent of disease severity or presence of depression.

Serious Bacterial Infections Acquired During Treatment of Patients Given a Diagnosis of Chronic Lyme Disease - United States.

The term "chronic Lyme disease" is used by some health care providers as a diagnosis for various constitutional, musculoskeletal, and neuropsychiatric symptoms (1,2). Patients with a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease have been provided a wide range of medications as treatment, including long courses of intravenous (IV) antibiotics (3,4). Studies have not shown that such treatments lead to substantial long-term improvement for patients, and they can be harmful (1,5). This report describes cases of septic shock, osteomyelitis, Clostridium difficile colitis, and paraspinal abscess resulting from treatments for chronic Lyme disease. Patients, clinicians, and public health practitioners should be aware that treatments for chronic Lyme disease can carry serious risks.

Quantifying disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) exhibits characteristic variability of onset and rate of disease progression, with inherent clinical heterogeneity making disease quantitation difficult. Recent advances in understanding pathogenic mechanisms linked to the development of ALS impose an increasing need to develop strategies to predict and more objectively measure disease progression. This review explores phenotypic and genetic determinants of disease progression in ALS, and examines established and evolving biomarkers that may contribute to robust measurement in longitudinal clinical studies. With targeted neuroprotective strategies on the horizon, developing efficiencies in clinical trial design may facilitate timely entry of novel treatments into the clinic.

Quantitative ultrasound of denervated hand muscles.

INTRODUCTION: Presentations to the neuromuscular clinic commonly involve hand muscle denervation, but few studies have evaluated hand muscle ultrasound. METHODS: Ultrasound studies of abductor pollicis brevis, first dorsal interosseous, and abductor digit minimi were prospectively performed in a cohort of 34 patients (77 muscles) with electromyography (EMG)-confirmed denervation, compared with 58 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: In control subjects, muscle thickness was highly reproducible [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.88-0.98], and echogenicity was moderately reproducible (ICC = 0.542-0.686). Age, gender, and body mass index influenced muscle thickness and echogenicity. Ultrasound changes in denervated muscles correlated with the severity of EMG abnormalities. A z-score cutoff of 0 identified denervated muscles with a sensitivity of 100% and 89% for echogenicity and muscle thickness, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Hand muscle ultrasound provides a noninvasive method to quantify muscle denervation and may be useful as a screening tool before EMG studies.

Patterns of clinical and electrodiagnostic abnormalities in early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: The distribution of clinical and neurophysiological abnormalities in patients with early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was investigated in an attempt to delineate patterns of disease spread. METHODS: Clinical and electrodiagnostic data were collected from 150 ALS patients and analyzed based on the clinical region of onset. RESULTS: Asymmetry of clinical and neurophysiological abnormalities was more marked in upper limb-onset than lower limb-onset disease. Significant rostral-caudal gradients of clinical weakness were identified in bulbar- and lower limb-onset disease. Neurophysiological evidence of the ALS "split-hand" pattern was evident irrespective of the region of disease onset. Limbs with and without evidence of clinical weakness demonstrated similar rates of abnormality on electromyography. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a pattern of disease spread in ALS. This study may serve to guide ongoing development of disease quantitation biomarkers and the targeting of future neuroprotective strategies.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. The mainstay of care of patients affected by this disease is supportive and given the multifaceted nature of their needs is provided most efficiently through multidisciplinary clinics that have shown to prolong survival and improve quality of life. The authors discuss in detail evidence-based management of individuals affected by this condition.

Influenza-associated global amnesia and hippocampal imaging abnormality.

The acute phase of influenza infection is rarely associated with significant cognitive dysfunction. We describe a case of a 24 year-old man who developed global amnesia in the acute phase of influenza A infection. His deficits resolved over the course of several weeks. Transient abnormalities of diffusion and T2-weighted imaging were seen in the bilateral hippocampi. We review cerebral complications of influenza and discuss the possible role of previously proposed mechanisms in our patient's case.

Development and Piloting of a Bereaved Care Partner Survey to Inform Quality Improvement in ALS Supportive Care.

OBJECTIVES: Bereaved care partner surveys typically focus on the experience with care in the final days of life. We sought to develop and pilot a novel bereaved care partner survey to understand experiences with ALS supportive care provided throughout the illness and identify opportunities for quality improvement. METHODS: We developed the survey using a multisite, interdisciplinary consensus process involving ALS and palliative care clinicians as well as patient advocates. We then piloted the survey at a single site via video interviews with care partners of patients who died from ALS between three and 15 months prior. Qualitative findings were analyzed using Rapid Qualitative Analysis. RESULTS: The survey includes 17 core questions and nine demographic items. Questions inquire about whether the patient and care partner received adequate help with physical symptoms, emotional and practical needs, education about the illness and how to provide hands-on care, preparing for what was to come, and bereavement. They also query whether care was person-centered and consistent with the patient's values and preferences. During the pilot with 18 bereaved care partners, the tool generated detailed feedback about aspects of care to preserve as well as how to improve ALS supportive care. DISCUSSION: We developed and piloted a bereaved care partner survey to understand and improve the quality of ALS supportive care, which was found to be feasible and acceptable. Next steps include testing it at additional centers in order to generate learnings that can advance ALS supportive care in ways that are meaningful to patients and care partners.

Ataxin-2 repeat-length variation and neurodegeneration.

Expanded glutamine repeats of the ataxin-2 (ATXN2) protein cause spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), a rare neurodegenerative disorder. More recent studies have suggested that expanded ATXN2 repeats are a genetic risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) via an RNA-dependent interaction with TDP-43. Given the phenotypic diversity observed in SCA2 patients, we set out to determine the polymorphic nature of the ATXN2 repeat length across a spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we genotyped the ATXN2 repeat in 3919 neurodegenerative disease patients and 4877 healthy controls and performed logistic regression analysis to determine the association of repeat length with the risk of disease. We confirmed the presence of a significantly higher number of expanded ATXN2 repeat carriers in ALS patients compared with healthy controls (OR = 5.57; P= 0.001; repeat length >30 units). Furthermore, we observed significant association of expanded ATXN2 repeats with the development of progressive supranuclear palsy (OR = 5.83; P= 0.004; repeat length >30 units). Although expanded repeat carriers were also identified in frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease patients, these were not significantly more frequent than in controls. Of note, our study identified a number of healthy control individuals who harbor expanded repeat alleles (31-33 units), which suggests caution should be taken when attributing specific disease phenotypes to these repeat lengths. In conclusion, our findings confirm the role of ATXN2 as an important risk factor for ALS and support the hypothesis that expanded ATXN2 repeats may predispose to other neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive supranuclear palsy.

Organ donation after cardiac death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are often told that solid organ donation is not possible following death, although the reasons for exclusion are not evidence based. Because ALS patients typically remain sentient until death, organs may be procured under donation after cardiac death protocols. Anticipating this need, our institution created a process for organ donation in ventilator-dependent ALS patients that was subsequently implemented. To our knowledge, this is the first report of organ donation in a patient with rapidly progressive ventilator-dependent ALS.

Primary lateral sclerosis natural history study - planning, designing, and early enrollment.

Introduction/Aims. Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is exceedingly rare and has been an enigmatic disease. Recent progress has drastically changed this perception, with early biomarkers being investigated and potential medications for PLS emerging at the preclinical stage. The aim of this paper is to describe a study of PLS natural history and discuss the limitations and proposed solutions to the study of a rare and slowly progressive disease. Methods. The PLS Natural History Study is a 30-site, 24-month, prospective study that is supported by multiple funding sources. The study aims to enroll 50 early PLS (disease duration ≤4 years) and 50 definite PLS (disease duration 4 to 15 years) participants using modified PLS Diagnostic Criteria. Smartphone-based assessments including semi-quantitative and quantitative measures and patient-reported outcomes are utilized. In-person quantitative measures are also completed during site visits. The change in the PLS Functional Rating Scale score is the primary outcome. The study utilizes the NeuroBANK® patient-centric data capture and management platform. The biostatistical analysis plan has been developed. Results. In one year, 28 participants have been recruited. Enrollment has been much slower than anticipated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rarity of PLS, and potential study competition for internal resources from ALS clinical trials. Discussion. We discuss the need for more innovative methods to enroll and study individuals with such rare diseases and propose a number of mechanisms by which more efficient enrollment could be facilitated.

Behaviour, physiology and experience of pathological laughing and crying in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Pathological laughing and crying is a disorder of emotional expression seen in a number of neurological diseases. The aetiology is poorly understood, but clinical descriptions suggest a disorder of emotion regulation. The goals of this study were: (i) to characterize the subjective, behavioural and physiological emotional reactions that occur during episodes of pathological laughing and crying; (ii) to compare responses during these episodes to those that occur when emotions are elicited under standard conditions (watching sad and amusing emotional films, being startled); and (iii) to examine the ability of patients with this disorder to regulate their emotions under standardized conditions. Twenty-one patients with pathological laughing and crying due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 14 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but no pathological laughing and crying were studied. Emotional measures included self-reported emotional experience, video recordings of facial reactivity and peripheral physiological responses (skin conductance, heart rate and somatic activity). Nineteen of the 21 patients with histories of pathological laughing and crying had at least one episode in the laboratory that they agreed constituted pathological laughing or crying (a total of 56 episodes were documented). Compared with viewing sad and amusing films, the episodes were associated with greater facial and physiological activation. Contrary to many clinical descriptions, episodes were often induced by contextually appropriate stimuli and associated with strong experiences of emotion that were consistent with the display. When instructed to regulate their facial responses to emotion-eliciting films, patients with pathological laughing and crying showed impairments compared with patients who did not have a history of this disorder. These findings support the idea that pathological laughing and crying represents activation of all channels of emotional responding (i.e. behavioural, physiological and subjective). Furthermore, they support previously advanced theories that, rather than being associated with general emotional hyperreactivity, this disorder may be due to dysfunction in frontal neural systems that support voluntary regulation of emotion.

Embedded Palliative Care for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Pilot Program and Lessons Learned.

Background and Objectives: Palliative care (PC) is recommended for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but there is scant literature about how to best provide this care. We describe the structure and impact of a pilot program that integrates longitudinal, interdisciplinary PC into the care of patients with ALS. Methods: Observational cohort study of patients with ALS referred to outpatient PC and seen for at least 3 PC visits October 2017-July 2020. Results: Fifty-five patients met the inclusion criteria. Three-quarters (74.5%) were Caucasian, and 78.2% spoke English. Patients were referred for advance care planning (58.2%), support for patient/family (52.7%), and symptoms other than pain (50.9%). Patients had a mean of 5 scheduled PC visits, the majority occurred by video. A PC physician, nurse, social worker, and chaplain addressed pain (for 43.6% of patients), nonpain symptoms (94.5%), psychosocial distress (78.2%), spiritual concerns (29.1%), care planning (96.4%), and supported family caregivers (96.4%). With PC, the rate of completion of advance directives increased from 16.4% to 36.4% (p = 0.001) and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment forms from 10.9% to 63.6% (p < 0.001). Of the 27 patients who died, 77.8% used hospice, typically for more than 30 days. Eleven patients obtained aid-in-dying prescriptions, and 8 took these medications, accounting for 29.6% of the deaths. Discussion: Integrating longitudinal, interdisciplinary PC into the care of patients with ALS is feasible, addresses needs in multiple domains, and is associated with increased rates of advance care planning. Controlled studies are needed to further elucidate the impact of PC on patients with ALS, their families, and clinicians.

Comprehensive cell type decomposition of circulating cell-free DNA with CelFiE.

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the bloodstream originates from dying cells and is a promising noninvasive biomarker for cell death. Here, we propose an algorithm, CelFiE, to accurately estimate the relative abundances of cell types and tissues contributing to cfDNA from epigenetic cfDNA sequencing. In contrast to previous work, CelFiE accommodates low coverage data, does not require CpG site curation, and estimates contributions from multiple unknown cell types that are not available in external reference data. In simulations, CelFiE accurately estimates known and unknown cell type proportions from low coverage and noisy cfDNA mixtures, including from cell types composing less than 1% of the total mixture. When used in two clinically-relevant situations, CelFiE correctly estimates a large placenta component in pregnant women, and an elevated skeletal muscle component in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, consistent with the occurrence of muscle wasting typical in these patients. Together, these results show how CelFiE could be a useful tool for biomarker discovery and monitoring the progression of degenerative disease.

Current Status and Future Strategies for Mentoring Women in Neurology.

The American Academy of Neurology's (AAN) 2017 Gender Disparity Report identified improving mentorship as a key intervention to fill the leadership and pay gaps for women in neurology. Here we summarize the literature on mentoring women, provide an outline of ideal components of programs geared toward closing gender gaps, and present a mentoring program for AAN members. The strategies discussed share similarities with those for closing gaps related to race, ethnicity, and religion. Developing effective mentorship and sponsorship programs is essential to ensure a sufficiently diverse pool of academic faculty and private practitioners and to establish equal representation in leadership roles in this field.

Whole-genome analysis of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 90% of persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have the sporadic form, which may be caused by the interaction of multiple environmental factors and previously unknown genes. METHODS: We performed a genomewide association analysis using 766,955 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in 386 white patients with sporadic ALS and 542 neurologically normal white controls (the discovery series). Associations of SNPs with sporadic ALS were confirmed in two independent replication populations: replication series 1, with 766 case patients with the disease and 750 neurologically normal controls, and replication series 2, with 135 case patients and 275 controls. RESULTS: We identified 10 genetic loci that are significantly associated (P<0.05) with sporadic ALS in three independent series of case patients and controls and an additional 41 loci that had significant associations in two of the three series. The most significant association with disease in white case patients as compared with controls was found for a SNP near an uncharacterized gene known as FLJ10986 (P=3.0x10(-4); odds ratio for having the genotype in patients vs. controls, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.13 to 1.62). The FLJ10986 protein was found to be expressed in the spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid of patients and of controls. Specific SNPs seem to be associated with sex, age at onset, and site of onset of sporadic ALS. CONCLUSIONS: Variants of FLJ10986 may confer susceptibility to sporadic ALS. FLJ10986 and 50 other candidate loci warrant further investigation for their potential role in conferring susceptibility to the disease.

Phase II trial of CoQ10 for ALS finds insufficient evidence to justify phase III.

OBJECTIVE: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, and currently incurable, neuromuscular disease in which oxidative stress and mitochondrial impairment are contributing to neuronal loss. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an antioxidant and mitochondrial cofactor, has shown promise in ALS transgenic mice, and in clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases other than ALS. Our aims were to choose between two high doses of CoQ10 for ALS, and to determine if it merits testing in a Phase III clinical trial. METHODS: We designed and implemented a multicenter trial with an adaptive, two-stage, bias-adjusted, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, Phase II design (n = 185). The primary outcome in both stages was a decline in the ALS Functional Rating Scale-revised (ALSFRSr) score over 9 months. Stage 1 (dose selection, 35 participants per group) compared CoQ10 doses of 1,800 and 2,700 mg/day. Stage 2 (futility test, 75 patients per group) compared the dose selected in Stage 1 against placebo. RESULTS: Stage 1 selected the 2,700 mg dose. In Stage 2, the pre-specified primary null hypothesis that this dose is superior to placebo was not rejected. It was rejected, however, in an accompanying prespecified sensitivity test, and further supplementary analyses. Prespecified secondary analyses showed no significant differences between CoQ10 at 2,700 mg/day and placebo. There were no safety concerns. INTERPRETATION: CoQ10 at 2,700 mg daily for 9 months shows insufficient promise to warrant Phase III testing. Given this outcome, the adaptive Phase II design incorporating a dose selection and a futility test avoided the need for a much larger conventional Phase III trial.

Cognitive and behavioral challenges in caring for patients with frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a progressive neurological condition caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or anterior temporal lobes resulting in personality, behavioral, and cognitive changes. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is caused by degeneration of lower motor and pyramidal neurons, leading to loss of voluntary muscle movement. The common molecular pathological and anatomical overlaps between FTD and ALS suggest that the two disorders are strongly linked. In some patients FTD precedes ALS; in others ALS occurs first, while in still others the two disorders begin simultaneously. The association between ALS and FTD creates unique challenges for family caregivers. This paper provides a guide for healthcare providers caring for patients with FTD-ALS exhibiting behavioral, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. Strategies are suggested to help minimize the impact of negative symptoms.