Calculated Maximal Volume Ventilation (cMVV) as a Marker of Early Respiratory Failure in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Respiratory failure assessment is among the most debatable research topics in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinical research due to the wide heterogeneity of its presentation. Among the different pulmonary function tests (PFTs), maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) has shown potential utility as a diagnostic and monitoring marker, able to capture early respiratory modification in neuromuscular disorders. In the present study, we explored calculated MVV (cMVV) as a prognostic biomarker in a center-based, retrospective ALS population belonging to the Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta registry for ALS (PARALS). A Spearman's correlation analysis with clinical data and PFTs showed a good correlation of cMVV with forced vital capacity (FVC) and a moderate correlation with some other features such as bulbar involvement, ALSFRS-R total score, blood oxygen (pO