title: Survival and clinical features in Hispanic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.
abstract: The demography, survival, and motor phenotypes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients have been rarely described in Hispanic countries. The clinical characteristics and survival of a series of Mexican ALS patients are described. Mexican patients with definite ALS were included in a five-year retrospective longitudinal study. Their demographic and clinical features, cumulative survival rates, and independent predictive factors for survival were analysed. Sixty-one definite ALS patients were included. The median follow-up period was 35 months (range 12-108 months). Males were predominant (1.8: 1), the mean age at onset was 47.5 ± 10.5 years, and the median interval from onset to diagnosis was 12 months. Spinal onset occurred in 66% of patients. Upper motor neuron phenotype was predominant in 53% of patients. The overall mean survival from onset was 68.6 months, and from diagnosis was 57.8 months. Longer survival was determined in patients aged ≤ 40 years (54.7 months) compared with other age groups (p = 0.006). In conclusion, the clinical heterogeneity, male predominance, and survival rates in our sample are consistent with those of other studies. Patients in this series had a younger age at onset and a clear trend toward longer survival compared with those of other population studies.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurología Hospital San José Tec de Monterrey, Mexico. drhectormtz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Héctor R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Juan Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Molina-López
authors.forename: Leonel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cantú-Martínez
authors.forename: María Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: González-Garza
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Moreno-Cuevas
authors.forename: Patricio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Couret-Alcaraz
authors.forename: Sergio A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Treviño
authors.forename: Yenny
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Webb-Vargas
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caro
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gil-Valadez
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santos-Guzmán
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Torre
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate