ArticleNeurological research and practice2024
Nerve ultrasound in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Neurological research and practice, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sex-associated differences in routine inflammatory markers and neuromuscular ultrasound measurements in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a retrospective cross-sectional study.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Exploration of reliable assessment of respiratory function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Article
- Imaging-derived neuromuscular ultrasound phenotypes are associated with functional status in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Journal of neurology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
aimAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motor neurons, causing progressive atrophy of muscles, hypertonia, and paralysis. This study aimed to evaluate the current evidence and effectiveness of ultrasound in investigating nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) of peripheral nerves, vagus and cervical roots in those with ALS compared with healthy controls and to pool the CSA measurements.
methodsA systematic search was conducted on Cochrane, Clarivate Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase for the mesh terms nerve, ultrasonography, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A quality assessment was performed using the New-Ottawa scale. In addition, a double-arm meta-analysis using Review Manager 5 software version 5.4 was performed.
resultsFrom the seventeen studies included in this review, the overall mean difference showed that individuals with ALS had a significantly smaller CSA in comparison to healthy controls for median, ulnar, C6 root, and phrenic nerves. However, no significant difference in the CSA was found in radial, vagal, sural, and tibial nerves. DISCUSSION: This study confirmed results of some of the included studies regards the anatomic sites, where nerve atrophy in ALS could be detected to potentially support the diagnosis of ALS. However, we recommend further large, prospective studies to assess the diagnostic value of these anatomical sites for the diagnosis of ALS.
conclusionsOur findings confirmed specific anatomic sites to differentiate ALS patients from healthy controls through ultrasound. However, these findings cannot be used to confirm the ALS diagnosis, but rather assist in differentiating it from other diagnoses.
trial registrationRetrospectively registered on July 30th 2024 in PROSPERO (PROSPERO (york.ac.uk)) with ID574702.
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