The aim of this study is to determine and evaluate the specific gastrointestinal symptoms experienced by ALS subjects, specifically constipation and bloating and how they correlate with disease severity and progression.

ALS is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the motor neurons in the cortex, brainstem and spinal cord resulting in the constellation of upper and lower motor neuron findings clinically present in patients. One particular area of interest in ALS patients is gastric motility and delayed emptying indicating autonomic dysfunction that typically occurs in this cohort.

The study subjects involved in the research will be recruited from the ALS clinic at Temple University Hospital and may also be recruited after chart review, for patients diagnosed with definite, probable or possible ALS. Patients may be contacted in person or over the phone to complete the questionnaire related to disease severity.  

8 subjects were recruited with a mean age was 59.875. The Patient Assessment of GI Symptoms assesses several gastrointestinal symptoms and asks the patient to score severity of a particular symptom on a scale from 0 (absent) to 5 (very severe). The correlation coefficient of The Patient Assessment of GI Symptoms concurrently to the ALSFRS-R was -0.1589. The PAC-SYM is a 12 question form in which patients are asked to rate the severity of the particular symptoms on a scale of 0 (absent) to 4 (very severe). This questionnaire in conjunction to the ALSFRS-R showed a stronger correlation with a correlation coefficient of -0.4716.

Both GI questionnaires (The Patient Assessment of GI Symptoms and PAC-SYM) in conjunction to the ALSFRS-R showed an association that as the disease progresses, the frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms also increased. This is demonstrated by a low ALSFRS-R score in conjunction with a high score on the GI questionnaires.