An electronic nose may sniff out amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyothrophic lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive degeneration of the cortical and spinal motor neuron. Exhaled molecular profiles that have potential in the diagnosis of several respiratory and systemic diseases can be obtained by analyzing human breath with an electronic nose. We hypothesized that exhaled molecular profiling may discriminate well-characterized patients with ALS from controls. 20 ALS patients (age: 63.5 ± 12.3), and 20 healthy controls (age: 58.1 ± 4.4) participated in a cross-sectional study. A Tedlar bag was used to collect exhaled breath by using a validated method. Bags were then sampled by an electronic nose (Cyranose 320). Statistical analysis on sensor responses was performed off-line by principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis and ROC curves. Breathprints from patients with ALS were discriminated from healthy controls (CVA: 75.0%; p = 0.003; AUC 0.795). Based on our results, patients with ALS can be discriminated from healthy controls. This suggests that exhaled breath analysis has potential for screening and/or diagnosis of this neuromuscular disease.