[Evaluation of serum creatinine level in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the serum creatinine (SCr) level in patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) and to explore the relationship between the SCr level and the clinical characteristics.

METHODS

A total of 80 patients with sALS, 80 patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and 80 patients with tension-type headache (TTH) were enrolled in the study. The SCr levels were compared among the three groups. The association between the SCr level and the revised Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R), the forced vital capacity (FVC) percentage of predicted (FVC%pred), the site of symptom onset, the duration of disease and the rate of disease progression was evaluated in the sALS group.

RESULTS

The SCr level was significantly decreased in the sALS group than the other two groups [(60.86 ± 16.80) µmol/L vs (70.05 ± 12.79) µmol/L and (66.97 ± 14.14) µmol/L, P < 0.01].In the sALS group, the SCr level was positively correlated with the ALSFRS-R (r = 0.315, P = 0.005), while no correlation was found between the SCr level and the FVC%pred, the site of symptom onset, the duration of disease and the rate of disease progression (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The SCr level is an important biochemical index in the patients with sALS and might play an important role in monitoring the disease progression.