The blood biomarkers serum albumin and creatinine may be linked to survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers say. Additionally, the biomarkers may also help define prognosis in patients after they are diagnosed with ALS.
The study appears in JAMA Neurology.
Study authors reportedly investigated blood markers at ALS diagnosis in a population-based group of patients in Italy and then replicated the findings in another group of patients from an ALS tertiary center. The blood markers that the researchers examined included total leukocytes, glucose, cholesterol, albumin, creatinine, and thyroid-stimulating hormones.
The results indicate that serum albumin and creatinine levels were linked to ALS survival in both sexes. The researchers explain that creatinine reflected muscle waste and albumin was associated with inflammation. Lower albumin and creatinine levels are associated with worse clinical function at diagnosis, researchers say.
In the study, the researchers classify creatinine and albumin as “reliable and easily detectable” blood markers of the severity of motor dysfunction in ALS that could be used in defining patients’ prognosis at the time of diagnosis.
“Longitudinal studies on the variations in serum albumin and creatinine levels and their relationships to clinical status will help determine whether and how these hematological factors vary during the progression of the disease,” the researchers add.
Source: Medical News Today
