Dear Colleagues,

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a rapid functional decline and a short survival, but its progression rate has a large interindividual variability. The identification of biomarkers of disease progression would make it possible to improve clinical trials design and facilitate an easier identification of effective compounds. There is an extensive body of literature on neurophysiological, imaging, and neurochemical markers for investigating CSF and blood samples, cells, and tissues. Phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNfH) and the neurofilament light chain (NfL) are now considered as the most promising biomarkers. However, investigators persist in a continuous effort to find other biomarkers, as demonstrated by the emerging literature on chitinases in ALS. The impact of these different markers on clinical trials depends on their predictive value for disease outcome.

In this Special Issue we intended to collect original contributions on novel markers of disease progression and related outcomes, in the perspective of their potential interest for clinical trials. We aim to create a space for new findings, some of which will find a role in finding effective drugs for ALS.

Prof. Dr. Mamede de Carvalho
Prof. Dr. Susanne Petri
Guest Editors

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• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• progression rate
• biomarkers
• neurofilaments
• clinical trials