Identifying New Subtypes of Multiple System Atrophy Using Cluster Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a disease with diverse symptoms and the commonly used classifications, MSA-P and MSA-C, do not cover all the different symptoms seen in MSA patients. Additionally, these classifications do not provide information about how the disease progresses over time or the expected outcome for patients.

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical subtypes of MSA with a natural disease course through a data-driven approach to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of MSA.

METHODS: We followed 122 cases of MSA collected from 3 hospitals for 3 years. Demographic characteristics, age of onset, clinical signs, scale assessment scores, and auxiliary examination were collected. Age at onset; time from onset to assisted ambulation; and UMSARS I, II, and IV, COMPASS-31, ICARS, and UPDRS III scores were selected as clustering elements. K-means, partitioning around medoids, and self-organizing maps were used to analyze the clusters.

RESULTS: The results of all three clustering methods supported the classification of three MSA subtypes: The aggressive progression subtype (MSA-AP), characterized by mid-to-late onset, rapid progression and severe clinical symptoms; the typical subtype (MSA-T), characterized by mid-to-late onset, moderate progression and moderate severity of clinical symptoms; and the early-onset slow progression subtype (MSA-ESP), characterized by early-to-mid onset, slow progression and mild clinical symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: We divided MSA into three subtypes and summarized the characteristics of each subtype. According to the clustering results, MSA patients were divided into three completely different types according to the severity of symptoms, the speed of disease progression, and the age of onset.