Background

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterised by heterogenous sites of disease onset and disease progression rates. Its early symptoms are often vague and overlap with other ‘mimic’ diseases such as multifocal motor neuropathy and other spinal conditions adding to diagnostic delays and highlighting the need for reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Emerging research reveals the potential of small non-coding RNAs as diagnostic aids in neurodegenerative diseases including ALS which can be measured in blood.

Research

We analysed small non-coding RNA in the blood serum of patients with ALS, ALS ‘mimics’ and healthy controls to evaluate their potential as diagnostic markers.

Potential Impact

We identified a ‘fingerprint’ of small non-coding RNA capable of distinguishing patients with ALS from those with ALS mimic conditions and healthy controls. We further identified small non-coding RNA based subtypes within the ALS cohort, which may facilitate the development of more precise, targeted therapies in the future.