Background

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects motor function, but up to 50% of patients also experience cognitive and behavioural changes. Understanding how these non-motor symptoms develop over time is essential for improving treatment and care.

Research

This study followed 124 ALS patients, using EEG recordings to track brain activity changes over time. The participants were grouped based on whether they had cognitive impairment, behavioural changes, or neither. The researchers analysed how brain activity changed in these groups and how these changes were linked to motor skills, cognitive performance, behaviour, and survival.

Potential Impact

The study found specific patterns of brain activity that showed associations with cognitive, behavioural or motor decline in ALS patients. These findings suggest that EEG could be used to monitor disease progression and help tailor treatments to individual patients, improving the design of clinical trials and personalising care in ALS.