INTRODUCTION Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease resulting in the dysfunction of upper and lower motor neurons. Biomarkers in fluid have been used to monitor the disease and its progression. Milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) is an inflammation modulator, which is involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. We here took this study to evaluate the predictive value of MFG-E8 in ALS. METHODS This study consisted of 19 patients with ALS and 15 healthy controls. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were collected from all participants and tested for the levels of MFG-E8, neurofilament light (NFL), and heavy chain (NFH). The correlations between MFG-E8 and NFL, NFH, ALS severity, cognitive status, and forced vital capacity (FVC) were analyzed. RESULTS We found that MFG-E8 performs well in distinguishing ALS from controls, with relatively higher level of MFG-E8 in ALS subjects, than controls. Moreover, MFG-E8 negatively correlated with the revised ALS function rating scale (ALS-FRS), but not with the levels of NFL and NFH, disease duration, progression rate, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), and FVC. CONCLUSIONS The study proved that CSF MFG-E8 helps distinguish ALS from controls. However, the protein in CSF negatively predicted disease severity.

中文翻译：

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脑脊髓液MFG-E8作为肌萎缩性侧索硬化症的有前途的生物标志物。

引言肌萎缩性侧索硬化症（ALS）是一种致命的进行性神经退行性疾病，导致上，下运动神经元功能异常。液体中的生物标志物已用于监测疾病及其进展。乳脂球EGF因子8（MFG-E8）是一种炎症调节剂，参与神经退行性疾病的发病机理。我们在这里进行了这项研究，以评估MFG-E8在ALS中的预测价值。方法该研究由19例ALS患者和15例健康对照组成。从所有参与者中收集脑脊液（CSF），并测试其MFG-E8，轻度神经丝（NFL）和重链（NFH）的水平。分析了MFG-E8与NFL，NFH，ALS严重程度，认知状态和强迫肺活量（FVC）之间的相关性。结果我们发现MFG-E8在区分ALS和对照组方面表现良好，在ALS受试者中MFG-E8的水平高于对照组。此外，MFG-E8与修订后的ALS功能评定量表（ALS-FRS）呈负相关，但与NFL和NFH的水平，疾病持续时间，进展率，小精神状态检查（MMSE）和FVC则不相关。结论该研究证明脑脊液MFG-E8有助于将ALS与对照区分开。但是，脑脊液中的蛋白质可负面预测疾病的严重程度。结论该研究证明脑脊液MFG-E8有助于将ALS与对照区分开。但是，脑脊液中的蛋白质可负面预测疾病的严重程度。结论该研究证明脑脊液MFG-E8有助于将ALS与对照区分开。但是，脑脊液中的蛋白质可负面预测疾病的严重程度。