Frontotemporal Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Discriminant Function Analysis.

Background: There is growing evidence for extramotor dysfunction (EMd) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with a reported prevalence of up to 52%.

Objective: In the present study, we explore the clinical utility of a brief neuropsychological battery for the investigation of cognitive, behavioral, and language deficits in patients with ALS.

Methods: Thirty-four consecutive ALS patients aged 44-89 years were tested with a brief neuropsychological battery, including executive, behavioral, and language measures.

Humoral immune activation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

There is evidence that immunological factors may involved in the pathogenetic mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Few studies to date have explored the status of the humoral immune response in patients with ALS. We examined the presence of humoral immune activation in ALS patients, serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA and IgM) levels were measured in 36 patients with ALS and 35 normal controls.

Proinflammatory cytokines in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of CIDP patients.

Introduction: Little is known about the role of cytokines in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). Interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-15 are the major growth and differentiation factors for Th-1 cells and IL-17 is a marker of Th-17 cell expansion and activation, a high proinflammatory new subset of T cells that induce severe autoimmunity.

Patients And Methods: We measured by enzyme-like immunosorbent assay serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of IL-15, IL-12, and IL-17 in 24 patients with CIDP and 12 patients with other non-inflammatory neurological disorders and serum levels in 16 healthy subjects.

Prevalence of major depression in ALS: comparison of a semi-structured interview and four self-report measures.

This study aimed to compare prevalence estimates of current major depression obtained with a semi-structured interview and four frequently used self-report depression severity measures in a sample of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Thirty-seven ALS patients (56.8% males) aged 37-80 years (mean 62.

Interleukin-15 and interleukin-12 are elevated in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: There is evidence that immunological factors may be involved in pathogenic mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Interleukin (IL)-15 and IL-12 are proinflammatory cytokines produced by activated blood and glial cells. They promote T cell differentiation and proliferation.