Does the index-to-ring finger length ratio (2D:4D) differ in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)? Results from an international online case–control study

ObjectivesThe ratio of the length of the index finger (2D) to the ring finger (4D) (2D:4D) has been reported to be lower (ie, 2D<4D) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than non-ALS controls. This has led to suggestions that exposure to increased prenatal testosterone, which also lowers this ratio, could be a risk factor for ALS. In an attempt to test this hypothesis, we examined 2D:4Ds from large numbers of patients with ALS and controls.SettingAn online multilingual questionnaire enabling respondents to measure their own index and ring finger lengths.ParticipantsOf the initial 949 respondents, 572 remained for analysis after elimination for inability to straighten fingers, not answering the question, statistical outliers and aged <40 years. Respondents remaining for analysis were 202 patients with ALS (125 males, 77 females) and 370 non-ALS controls (112 males, 258 females).ResultsUnpaired t-tests with 95% CIs were used to assess differences in mean 2D:4Ds. Males had significantly lower mean 2D:4Ds than females, in both ALS and control groups, for both left and right hands. No significant differences were found in 2D:4Ds between ALS and control groups, in either males or females, for either left or right hands. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed no power for 2D:4Ds to predict ALS status in either males or females.Conclusions2D:4Ds did not differ between patients with ALS and controls in this study. This was despite the dataset being large enough to confirm the established finding of lower 2D:4Ds in males compared with females. These findings do not support the hypothesis that exposure to increased prenatal testosterone is a risk factor for ALS. A putative lower 2D:4D has been proposed to explain the link between ALS and exercise, but our results indicate that other exercise-related factors are more likely to explain this association.

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Elevated CSF Neuron-specific Enolase Levels in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Als): A Useful Biomarker for Distinguishing ALS From Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

10.21203/rs.3.rs-805919/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Akihiro Tsukahara ◽

Takafumi Hosokawa ◽

Daisuke Nishioka ◽

Takuya Kotani ◽

Shimon Ishida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy ◽

Characteristic Curve ◽

Neuron Specific Enolase ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Diagnostic Value ◽

Control Group ◽

Control Groups ◽

And Control ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

Abstract The current study aimed to evaluate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels are elevated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and are effective in distinguishing ALS from cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). We retrospectively evaluated 45 patients with ALS, 23 with CSM, and 28 controls who underwent analysis of CSF NSE levels. The control group comprised patients aged above 45 years who underwent lumbar puncture because of suspected neurological disorders that were ruled out after extensive investigations. CSF NSE levels were evaluated using the electro-chemiluminescent immunoassay. The ALS group had significantly higher CSF NSE levels than the CSM and control groups (P < 0.001 for both comparisons). The CSM and control groups did not significantly differ in terms of CSF NSE levels. A receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic value of CSF NSE levels in distinguishing ALS from CSM. The area under the curve for CSF NSE levels was 0.86. The optimal cutoff value was 17.7 ng/mL, with a specificity of 87% and a sensitivity of 80%. Hence, CSF NSE levels are elevated in ALS and are effective in distinguishing ALS from CSM.

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Restrictive Pulmonary Dysfunction May Increase Blood Loss During Liver Resection

The American Surgeon ◽

10.1177/00031348211060425 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 000313482110604

Author(s):

Takahiro Yoshikawa ◽

Daisuke Hokuto ◽

Satoshi Yasuda ◽

Naoki Kamitani ◽

Yasuko Matsuo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Liver Resection ◽

Blood Loss ◽

Perioperative Outcomes ◽

Complication Rates ◽

Pulmonary Dysfunction ◽

Intraoperative Blood Loss ◽

Control Groups ◽

Anatomical Liver Resection ◽

And Control

Background Restrictive pulmonary dysfunction (RPD) is a risk factor for perioperative complications during gastrointestinal surgery. We hypothesized that high airway pressure due to RPD results in increased intraoperative blood loss during liver surgery. Thus, we investigated the effects of RPD on perioperative outcomes for liver resection. Methods This study included 496 patients who underwent curative liver resection at our hospital between April 2009 and April 2020. Perioperative outcomes for the RPD and control groups were compared. Restrictive pulmonary dysfunction was defined as % vital capacity <80%. Results Forty-one patients (8.3%) had RPD. No significant differences were observed in intraoperative blood losses (440 mL vs 320 mL, P = .340), overall complication rates (29.3% vs 31.2%, P = .797), or pulmonary complication rates (4.9% vs 9.0%, P = .286) between the RPD and control groups. In the 256 patients who underwent anatomical liver resection, 18 patients (7.0%) had RPD. The intraoperative blood loss was significantly higher in the RPD group (925 mL vs 456 mL, P = .013), but no differences in the overall complication rates (44.4% vs 37.3%, P = .528) or pulmonary complication rates (11.1% vs 10.5%, P = .589) between the two groups were detected. A multivariate analysis showed that RPD was an independent risk factor for intraoperative blood loss ≥500 mL during anatomical liver resection (odds ratio 4.132; 95% confidence interval 1.135-15.045; P = .031). Discussion Restrictive pulmonary dysfunction may be a risk factor for intraoperative blood loss during anatomical liver resection, which requires exposure of the main hepatic vein.

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Detection of picornavirus sequences in nervous tissue of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and control patients

Annals of Neurology ◽

10.1002/ana.410180311 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 337-343 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

M. Brahic ◽

R. A. Smith ◽

C. J. Gibbs ◽

R. M. Garruto ◽

W. W. Tourtellotte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Nervous Tissue ◽

And Control ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

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Is TNF inhibitor exposure a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology ◽

10.1111/fcp.12480 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. 689-694 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nadine Petitpain ◽

David Devos ◽

Haleh Bagheri ◽

Fanny Rocher ◽

Aurore Gouraud ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Tnf Inhibitor ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

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Physical activity as a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-findings from three large European cohorts

Journal of Neurology ◽

10.1007/s00415-020-09995-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 267 (7) ◽

pp. 2173-2175

Author(s):

Hu M ◽

Robertson NP

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

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Comparison of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities in peripheral blood from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and control populations

Human Microbiome Journal ◽

10.1016/j.humic.2019.100060 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 100060 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jeremy E. Ellis ◽

Dara S. Missan ◽

Matthew Shabilla ◽

Constantine Moschonas ◽

David Saperstein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

And Control ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

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Occupational stress and psychological health impact on hypertension of miners in noisy environment in Wulumuqi, China: a case-control study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09760-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yaoqin Lu ◽

Huan Yan ◽

Jiandong Yang ◽

Jiwen Liu

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Occupational Stress ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Noisy Environment ◽

Control Groups ◽

And Control ◽

Control Study

Abstract Background Hypertension has been declared as a global public health crisis by the World Health Organization, because of its high prevalence. It affects the health of one billion people worldwide and is directly responsible for the deaths of more than 10 million people per year. The purpose of our research was to explore the influence of occupational stress and psychological health on hypertension of miners who work in a noisy environment and provide decision reference for relevant departments to keep miners’ health. Methods A case-control study was carried out in this research. The study subjects were divided into case groups and control groups based on whether they had hypertension or not. Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire and Self-Reporting Inventory questionnaire were used to investigate the psychological health status and occupational stress of the target population. General information was balanced between case and control groups through propensity score matching method. After propensity score matching, a multifactorial analysis was used to explore the impact of occupational stress and psychological health on hypertension. Results According to the result of the multivariate analysis, psychological health was hazard to hypertension (t = 5.080, P<0.001) and occupational stress was not a direct risk factor for hypertension (t = 1.760, P = 0.080). The model was statistically significant (χ2 = 20.4, P<0.01). Conclusions For miners working in the noisy environment, psychological status was a direct risk factor to hypertension, while occupational stress was an indirect factor.

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