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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Clinical Testing and Spinal Cord Removal in a Mouse Model for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS
Published on: March 17, 2012
A geographical study on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil, from 2005 to 2018
Roberto Teodoro Gurgel De Oliveira1, Glauciane Costa Santana2, Maria De Jesus Gonçalves3
1Department of Mathematics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
Objective:
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with variable incidence and prevalence worldwide. However, clinical-epidemiological studies on ALS are scarce in Brazil. Thus, this study investigated whether ALS incidence had uniform spatial distribution in population-based cluster analysis in Rio Grande do Norte state (Brazil), from 2005 to 2018.
Methods:
new cases of ALS were identified in a database of the ALS multidisciplinary care center of the Onofre Lopes University Hospital in Natal (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil). Approaches were based on incidence (empirical Bayes estimator and Moran's I analysis) and cluster analyses (Moran scatter plot and spatial correlogram).
Results:
a total of 177 patients (59% males) participated in the study; the mean age of ALS onset was 57 years. Mean annual incidence of ALS was 0.3769 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% confidence interval of 0.0889), higher in males than in females (0.4516 per 100,000 vs. 0.3044 per 100,000). According to spatial statistics, patients were homogeneously distributed throughout the studied area.
Conclusion:
a low estimate was observed compared with other populations. Results did not indicate areas of increased risk or significant spatial geographic dependence, suggesting a random ALS incidence in Rio Grande do Norte.
