Assessment of motor phenotype in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis using a force plate – a new biomarker for clinical studies?

Background: Assessment of severity of symptoms in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the setting of clinical studies is usually performed using categorical clinical scales such as the ALS-FRS (functional rating scale) (Cedarbaum 1997). Objective measures of disease phenotype are desirable to quantitatively and sensitively assess clinical severity in ALS. Assessment of motor phenotype dysfunction may serve as a useful surrogate marker that is easy to assess even in out-patient settings. Objective: To investigate whether patients with ALS (1) exhibit impairments in the stability of stance compare…