Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Serum Lipid Level Association: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analytic Study

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with unknown etiology. Many metabolic alterations occur during ALS progress and can be used as a method of pre-diagnostic and early diagnosis. Dyslipidemia is one of the physiological changes observed in numerous ALS patients. The aim of this study is to analyze the possible relationship between the rate of disease progression (functional rating scale (ALS-FRS)) and the plasma lipid levels at the early stage of ALS. A systematic review was carried out in July 2022. The search equation was "Triglycerides AND amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" and its variants. Four meta-analyses were performed. Four studies were included in the meta-analysis. No significant differences were observed between the lipid levels (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol) and the ALS-FRS score at the onset of the disease. Although the number of studies included in this research was low, the results of this meta-analytic study suggest that there is no clear relationship between the symptoms observed in ALS patients and the plasma lipid levels. An increase in research, as well as an expansion of the geographical area, would be of interest.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; cholesterol; lipids; meta-analysis; neurodegeneration.

Figure 1

Flow diagram of document selection process.

Figure 2

Forest plot of serum TG in ALS patients and ALS-FRS score [45,51,54].

Figure 3

Forest plot of serum LDL in ALS patients and ALS-FRS score [33,45].

Figure 4

Forest plot of serum HDL in ALS patients and ALS-FRS score [51,54].

Figure 5

Forest plot of serum TC in ALS patients and ALS-FRS score [33,51,54].