Clinical Study

Identification of Personal Factors in Motor Neurone Disease: A Pilot Study

Table 1

Characteristics of motor neurone disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (MND/ALS) participants—demographics and disease features.

VariableAverage/Frequency

Age (mean ± SD (range) 6 1 ± 9 . 8 (43–80)
Sex [ 𝑛 (%)]
   Male29 (65.9)
   Female15 (34.1)
Marital status ( 𝑛 , %)
   Married/partner34 (77.3)
   Divorced/separated/single10 (22.7)
Race ( 𝑛 , %)
   Caucasian44 (100%)
Living [ 𝑛 (%)]
   Alone8 (18.2)
   Family36 (82.8)
Geographical area
   Metropolitan [ 𝑛 (%)]27(61.4)
   Rural [ 𝑛 (%)]17 (38.6)
Diagnosis of ALS (El Escorial criteria) [ 𝑛 (%)]
   Clinically definite ALS14 (31.8)
   Clinical probable ALS17 (38.6)
   Probable ALS (Lab Supported)5 (11.3)
   Possible ALS4 (9.1)
   Suspected ALS4 (9.1)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS—R [ 𝑛 (%)]
   0–123 (6.8)
   13–2415 (34.1)
   25–3612 (27.3)
   37–4814 (31.8)
Comorbidities ( 𝑛 , %)
   Yes28 (63.6)
   None16 (36.4)
   ≥2 comorbidities14 (50.0)
Clinical symptoms ( 𝑛 , %)
   Fatigue34 (77.3)
   Pain22 (50.0)
   Spasticity/cramps/spasms32 (72.7)
   Emotional lability21 (47.7)
   Shortness of breath8 (18)