Epidemiological and Clinical Profile of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Amur Region

Abstract

Objective: To determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Amur Region.
Material and methods: Medical records of 54 ALS patients (23 women, 31 men) hospitalized in the neurological department of Amur Regional Clinical Hospital between 2012 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The annual incidence of ALS ranged from 0.5 to 1.04 cases per 100,000 population. The mean age at disease onset was 59.37±1.33 years.
Results: The most common clinical onset was lumbar, followed by bulbar and cervical; diffuse onset was the rarest. In lumbar-onset ALS, males significantly predominated (70%, n=19 vs. 30%, n=8). Conversely, cervical onset was more frequent in women (64%, n=7) than in men (36%, n=4). No significant sexbased differences were observed in other onset types. Across all onset forms, the segmental-nuclear disease variant was most prevalent. The most common initial symptoms were unilateral leg weakness (39% of cases, n=21) and bulbar symptoms (20.4%, n=11). Unilateral arm weakness occurred in 9.2% (n=5), reflecting the lower frequency of cervical onset. Other initial manifestations were noted in 31.4% of patients (n=17).