Soluble VEGFR1 (sVEGFR1) as a novel marker of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the North Indian ALS patients

Background and purpose: North Indian patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) exhibit substantially extended survival time after onset of the disease as compared to their Western counterparts. Earlier, we found that vascular endothelial growth factor‐A (VEGF‐A) may be associated with increased survival of these patients. We now measured soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor‐1 (sVEGFR1), an inhibitor receptor for VEGF‐A, in these patients with ALS. Methods: Patients with sporadic ALS (n = 36) attending the Neurology Outpatient at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) at Chandigarh were included on the basis of El Escorial criteria. The sVEGFR1 levels were analyzed in serum of these patients using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared with normal controls (n = 36). Results: Soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor‐1 was found to be decreased significantly in serum of patients with ALS. Serum obtained from definite ALS revealed significantly lower sVEGFR1 as compared to probable ALS. However, there was no difference in serum sVEGFR1 levels between male and female patients with ALS. Conclusions: Soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor‐1 downregulation may result in increased serum VEGF‐A reported previously in our patients with ALS and may indicate the activation of compensatory mechanism in response to neurodegeneration. The lower serum sVEGFR1 levels may have a possible clinicopathological association, if not causal, to the extended survival of North Indian patients with ALS; however, the result needs further investigations particularly in comparable Caucasian ALS population.