A team from the Institute for Biomedical Research of Lleida (IRBLleida), with the collaboration of IDIBELL, the Motor Neuron Disease Unit of the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital in Lleida, has identified metabolic and lipid profiles in platelets with the potential to predict the rate of evolution of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The results of the research have been published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports, of the Nature group.
The study suggests that the analysis of platelet metabolism and fatty acid profiles may provide new prognostic tools for this neurodegenerative disease, characterized by a highly variable evolution between people.
ALS and the Need for Prognostic Biomarkers
ALS is a serious neurodegenerative disease with a highly variable evolution, with an average survival of only two to three years after diagnosis. There are currently no reliable biomarkers that can predict the rate of progression in each person.
In this work, the IRBLleida and IDIBELL research team has analysed platelet samples from 15 people with ALS and 21 healthy volunteers. The results show that, while the differences between patients and controls do not allow a clear diagnostic marker to be established, metabolic and lipid profiles have been identified that discriminate with great precision between people with a rapid progression of the disease and those with a slower progression.
Platelets as a window to metabolism
Platelets, easily accessible by a blood draw, have a high mitochondrial content and may reflect metabolic alterations relevant to ALS. According to the research team, this makes them a potential source of prognostic biomarkers that, in the future, could help to better stratify affected people and design more accurate clinical trials.
Although this is a pilot study and results will need to be validated in larger cohorts, the research provides new evidence on the central role of lipid metabolism and cellular energy in ALS.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research centre created in 2004 and specialising in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine and regenerative medicine. It has a team of more than 1,500 professionals who, from 73 research groups, publish more than 1,400 scientific articles a year. L’IDIBELL is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Health Institute, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus d’Excelencia Internacional of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centres accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the HR Excellence in Research program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Centre of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).