title: Prolonged survival in motor neuron disease: a descriptive study of the King's database 1990-2002.
abstract: Motor neuron disease is a clinically heterogeneous disease with significant differences in survival. The authors have characterised a subset of long term survivors seen in a tertiary clinic over a 12 year period in terms of clinical variables and demographics, comparing them with short term survivors and the remaining population. Thirty of 769 patients survived more than 10 years, corresponding to 4% of the total population. Significantly younger onset of disease symptoms and a predominance of pure upper motor neuron signs at presentation characterised the long term survivors, but factors traditionally regarded as being associated with poor prognosis were also well represented. For a few people with motor neuron disease there remains the hope, whatever the initial presentation, that their subsequent survival will be longer than expected.
authors.affiliation: MND Care and Research Clinic, King's College London, UK.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Parton
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Chalabi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013534:Survival