title: Comparative Analysis of VOCs in Exhaled Breath of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.
abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurological degenerative disease. It can cause irreversible neurological damage to motor neurons; typical symptoms include muscle weakness and atrophy, bulbar paralysis and pyramidal tract signs. The ALS-mimicking disease cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) presents similar symptoms, but analysis of breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can potentially be used to distinguish ALS from CSM. In this study, breath samples were collected from 28 ALS and 13 CSM patients. Subsequently, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS) was used to analyze breath VOCs. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLSDA) were the statistical methods used to process the final data. We identified 4 compounds with significantly decreased levels in ALS patients compared with CSM controls: (1) carbamic acid, monoammonium salt; (2) 1-alanine ethylamide, (S)-; (3) guanidine, N,N-dimethyl-; and (4) phosphonic acid, (p-hydroxyphenyl)-. Currently, the metabolic origin of the VOCs remains unclear; however, several pathways might explain the decreasing trends observed. The results of this study demonstrate that there are specific VOC profiles associated with ALS and CSM patients that can be used to differentiate between the two. In addition, these metabolites could contribute to a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of ALS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.|Department of critical care medicine, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Changsong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Mingjuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Hongquan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Hongshuang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Maomao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Honglin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Enyou
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D056808:Biostatistics; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D045853:Exhalation; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D055009:Spondylosis / Q000150:complications*; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds