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Review
. 2011 Jan;12(1):1-10.
doi: 10.3109/17482968.2010.502940. Epub 2010 Aug 11.

The epidemiology and treatment of ALS: focus on the heterogeneity of the disease and critical appraisal of therapeutic trials

Ettore Beghi  1 , Adriano Chiò, Philippe Couratier, Jesùs Esteban, Orla Hardiman, Giancarlo Logroscino, Andrea Millul, Douglas Mitchell, Pierre-Marie Preux, Elisabetta Pupillo, Zorica Stevic, Robert Swingler, Bryan J Traynor, Leonard H Van den Berg, Jan H Veldink, Stefano Zoccolella; Eurals Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations
Review

The epidemiology and treatment of ALS: focus on the heterogeneity of the disease and critical appraisal of therapeutic trials

Ettore Beghi et al. Amyotroph Lateral Scler. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Abstract Effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have remained elusive. Only riluzole, a drug thought to affect glutamate metabolism, improves survival albeit to modest extent. Explanations for the negative results of therapeutic trials include a likely heterogeneity, both in disease susceptibility and pathogenic mechanisms, and faulty methodology of clinical trials. Further understanding of these factors will lead to improvements in patient stratification, and in the design of future clinical trials.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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