Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects the cerebral cortex, brainstem and the upper and lower motor neurons of spinal cord. Its main clinical manifestations include progressive skeletal muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, bulbar palsy and pyramidal tract signs. The early clinical manifestations of ALS are highly heterogeneous, and the lack of specific biomarkers pose a challenge in its early diagnosis. The research progress in biomarkers such as body fluids, imaging, and neuroelectrophysiology is helpful for improving the accuracy of its early diagnosis.In term of treatment, although there are some approved small molecule drugs, the efficacy is limited. Drugs targeting neuroinflammation, gene therapies such as various antisense oligonucleotides(ASOs), and cell-gene therapies are new directions for ALS therapy. In addition, the treatment with ropinirole has achieved some exploratory results. In the future, the research on early diagnostic biomarkers and multi-target drugs will significantly promote the early diagnosis and treatment of ALS, in order to delay disease progression, improve the quality of life and prolong the survival time.

Key words: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, diagnosis, treatment, biomarkers