Disclosures: Gregory T. Carter, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which better diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are needed. Endocannabinoid signaling (ECS) is involved in neurodegenerative processes and could represent a novel target for both diagnosis and treatment. The goal of this study was to compare circulating endocannabinoid in patients with ALS to healthy controls.

Design: Biochemical assay, cross-sectional study Setting : University non-clinical laboratory Participants : Serum samples from 20 patients with ALS and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were obtained from the Northeast ALS (NEALS) biorepository

Interventions: None

Main Outcome Measures: Endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) and related lipids palmitoylethanolamine, oleoylethanolamine and 2-oleoylglycerol (2-OG), were extracted from serum and quantified using isotope-dilution, liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Patients’ sex, ethnicity/race, age of patient at disease onset, disease duration (years from symptom onset to sample collection), and maximum ALS functional rating scale revised total score (ALS FRS-R) were included in statistical analyses

Results: There were no significant differences in serum concentrations of any of the lipids between patients and controls. However, age at ALS diagnosis was positively correlated with concentrations of 2-AG (r = .60, p = .007) and its analog 2-OG (r = .54, p = .02) in ALS patients. There was a modest, non-significant negative correlation between disease duration and serum 2-AG concentration (r = -.39, p = .09) Conclusions: Although endocannabinoid concentrations did not differ significantly between healthy controls and ALS patients, our preliminary data indicate that lower circulating levels of 2-AG are associated with an earlier age of ALS diagnosis and may predict longer disease duration. These data suggest loss of ECS as ALS progresses and that serum 2-AG could have potential to serve as a biomarker for early diagnosis of ALS. Additional serum samples from ALS patients are currently being analyzed to more rigorously evaluate these putative relationships.

Level of Evidence: Level I

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/endocannabinoid-concentration-in-serum-from-patients-with-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als/