Small fiber neuropathy for assessment of disease severity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: corneal confocal microscopy findings.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101266602 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1750-1172 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17501172 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Orphanet J Rare Dis Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [London] : BioMed Central, 2006-

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* ; Diabetic Neuropathies*/diagnosis ; Small Fiber Neuropathy*; Cornea/innervation ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Microscopy, Confocal/methods ; Severity of Illness Index

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with progressive motor system impairment, and recent evidence has identified the extra-motor involvement. Small fiber neuropathy reflecting by sensory and autonomic disturbances in ALS has been reported to accompany the motor damage. However, non-invasive assessment of this impairment and its application in disease evaluation of ALS is scarce. We aim to evaluate the use of corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) to non-invasively quantify the corneal small fiber neuropathy in ALS and explore its clinical value in assessing disease severity of ALS.
Methods: Sixty-six patients with ALS and 64 healthy controls were included in this cross-sectional study. Participants underwent detailed clinical assessments and corneal imaging with in vivo CCM. Using ImageJ, the following parameters were quantified: corneal nerve length (IWL) and dendritic cell density (IWDC) in the inferior whorl region and corneal nerve fiber length (CNFL), nerve fiber density (CNFD), nerve branch density (CNBD), and dendritic cell density (CDC) in the peripheral region. Disease severity was evaluated using recognized scales.
Results: Corneal nerve lengths (IWL and CNFL) were lower while dendritic cell densities (IWDC and CDC) were higher in patients with ALS than controls in peripheral and inferior whorl regions (p < 0.05). Additionally, corneal nerve complexity in the peripheral region was greater in patients than controls with higher CNBD (p = 0.040) and lower CNFD (p = 0.011). IWL was significantly associated with disease severity (p < 0.001) and progression (p = 0.002) in patients with ALS. Patients with bulbar involvement showed significantly lower IWL (p = 0.014) and higher IWDC (p = 0.043) than patients without bulbar involvement.
Conclusions: CCM quantified significant corneal neuropathy in ALS, and alterations in the inferior whorl region were closely associated with disease severity. CCM could serve as a noninvasive, objective imaging tool to detect corneal small fiber neuropathy for clinical evaluation in ALS.
(© 2021. The Author(s).)

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Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Corneal confocal microscopy; Corneal nerves; Inferior whorl length; Small fiber neuropathy

Date Created: 20220107 Date Completed: 20220311 Latest Revision: 20220311

20250114

PMC8734326

10.1186/s13023-021-02157-w

34991673