Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and motor neuron syndromes in Asia

Shahrizaila N 1 , Sobue G 2 , Kuwabara S 3 , Kim SH 4 , Birks C 5 , Fan DS 6 Show all authors , Bae JS 7 , Hu CJ 8 , Gourie-Devi M 9 , Noto Y 10 , Shibuya K 11 , Goh KJ 12 , Kaji R 13 , Tsai CP 14 , Cui L 15 , Talman P 16 , Henderson RD 17 , Vucic S 18 , Kiernan MC 19

Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Medicine, Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
  • 2 Department of Neurology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
  • 3 Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
  • 4 Department of Neurology, Hanyang University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
  • 5 International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 6 Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
  • 7 Department of Neurology, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
  • 8 Department of Neurology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
  • 9 Department of Neurology, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), New Delhi, Delhi, India
  • 10 Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
  • 11 Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
  • 12 Faculty of Medicine, Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 13 Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Health Biosciences, University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
  • 14 Department of Neurology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 15 Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China
  • 16 Neurology Unit, Calvary Health Care, Bethlehem Hospital, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia
  • 17 Department of Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
  • 18 The Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead, NSW and Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 19 Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 2016 08;87(8):821-30.
PMID: 27093948 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2015-312751

Abstract

While the past 2 decades have witnessed an increasing understanding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) arising from East Asia, particularly Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China, knowledge of ALS throughout the whole of Asia remains limited. Asia represents >50% of the world population, making it host to the largest patient cohort of ALS. Furthermore, Asia represents a diverse population in terms of ethnic, social and cultural backgrounds. In this review, an overview is presented that covers what is currently known of ALS in Asia from basic epidemiology and genetic influences, through to disease characteristics including atypical phenotypes which manifest a predilection for Asians. With the recent establishment of the Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS to facilitate collaborations between clinicians and researchers across the region, it is anticipated that Asia and the Pacific will contribute to unravelling the uncertainties in ALS.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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