Blood lipoprotein levels are linked to the risk of ALS in the future

A large epidemiological study published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry showed that some blood lipid biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease risk are also associated with lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Related

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the most common motor neuron disease.

Single-gene factors only lead to a small number of ALS cases, and the etiology of the remaining cases is unclear

Researchers are eager to find biomarkers associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which may eventually lead to earlier diagnosis, possibly before symptoms appear, and hopefully preventive treatment

The authors used data from a large epidemiological study to try to determine the relationship between the levels of biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease and the subsequent diagnosis of ALS

They used data from 502,409 people who participated in the UK Biobank study between March 2006 and October 2010.

The authors studied the relationship between ALS and blood high and low density lipoproteins (HDL and LDL), total cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and B (apoA1 and apoB), triglycerides, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and creatinine

After controlling for age and gender, the authors found that higher HDL and apoA1 were associated with lower ALS risk

When a model containing multiple metabolic markers is used to assess disease risk, HDL and apoA1 continue to be associated with a reduction in ALS risk, which has nothing to do with other factors

Further analysis showed that the levels of LDL and apoB were higher before the diagnosis, but lower in the population close to the diagnosis, while there was no such difference in the levels of HDL and apoA1

The author said: "In models that control statin use, smoking, and vascular disease, these continuing findings indicate that the association between lipid levels and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is not lipid, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

This is an observational study, so the cause cannot be determined

There are still some inconsistencies in other published studies, reflecting different methods

"In addition to providing new insights into pathogenesis, this underscores the need to consider a wider range of potential pre-symptomatic biomarkers

DOI

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Higher blood high density lipoprotein and apolipoprotein A1 levels are associated with reduced risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis