title: An electronic nose may sniff out amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: Amyothrophic lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive degeneration of the cortical and spinal motor neuron. Exhaled molecular profiles that have potential in the diagnosis of several respiratory and systemic diseases can be obtained by analyzing human breath with an electronic nose. We hypothesized that exhaled molecular profiling may discriminate well-characterized patients with ALS from controls. 20 ALS patients (age: 63.5±12.3), and 20 healthy controls (age: 58.1±4.4) participated in a cross-sectional study. A Tedlar bag was used to collect exhaled breath by using a validated method. Bags were then sampled by an electronic nose (Cyranose 320). Statistical analysis on sensor responses was performed off-line by principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis and ROC curves. Breathprints from patients with ALS were discriminated from healthy controls (CVA: 75.0%; p=0.003; AUC 0.795). Based on our results, patients with ALS can be discriminated from healthy controls. This suggests that exhaled breath analysis has potential for screening and/or diagnosis of this neuromuscular disease.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy. Electronic address: silvano.dragonieri@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dragonieri
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Vitaliano N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Quaranta
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carratu
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ranieri
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Alba
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Onofrio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Resta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D001944:Breath Tests; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D062609:Electronic Nose; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
keywords: Amyothropic lateral sclerosis; Electronic nose; Exhaled breath; Volatile organic compounds