Increased levels of MIP ‐1 α in CSF and serum of ALS

Objectives Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS ) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with complicated pathogenesis. No effective diagnostic test and cure exists for the disease at present. We detected the levels of MIP ‐1 α in cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF ) and serum and then further evaluated whether MIP ‐1 α levels correlate with the severity and progression of ALS . Methods We used ELISA s to detect MIP ‐1 α levels from 58 patients with ALS and 45 age‐ and gender‐matched controls. The patients with ALS were also clinically evaluated with the revised ALS functional rating scale ( ALSFRS ‐r). Moreover, we followed up with 40 cases of ALS by way of call or clinic visit 4 years after enrollment in this study. Finally, we assessed the correlations between MIP ‐1 α levels and various clinical parameters. Results We found that the levels of MIP ‐1 α in patients with ALS significantly increased compared to controls and they were positively correlated with duration. MIP ‐1 α showed negative correlations with disease progression rate and the decrease in ALSFRS ‐r. Furthermore, the cumulative survival of patients with ALS with high levels of MIP ‐1 α exceeded patients with low MIP ‐1 α levels. Conclusions MIP ‐1 α levels increased in both CSF and serum of patients with ALS , and it may be a potential neuroprotective biomarker in ALS .