Association Between Vitamins and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Center-Based Survey in Mainland China

Abstract

To date, conflicting results about the role of vitamins in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been reported along with a lack of systematic studies on all types of serum vitamins in patients with ALS. Moreover, extensive studies have been conducted on vitamins in other neurodegenerative diseases; however, whether serum vitamin alterations in ALS are similar to those in other neurodegenerative diseases remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a study involving a large Chinese cohort of patients with ALS to address this gap. In this study, 202 patients with ALS, 214 with a neurodegenerative disease that mimicked ALS (mimics), and 208 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum vitamins of all subjects were examined under fasting state in Clinical Laboratory. As a result, we found that higher vitamin A and E levels and lower vitamin B2, B9, and C levels were in patients with ALS compared to healthy controls, and that high vitamin A and E levels, and low vitamin B2, B9, and C levels were associated with an increased risk for ALS. In addition, serum vitamin C was lower in early-onset ALS patients compared to those in late-onset ALS patients; however, there was no significant correlation between serum vitamins and age at onset, sites at onset, disease duration, or disease severity of ALS. We also found that patients with ALS showed similar vitamin alterations to mimics, with the exception of vitamin E. In summary, our study adds information to the literature on the role of vitamins in ALS and provides support for clinical guidance regarding dietary changes and vitamin supplements in patients with ALS.

An Integrative Transcriptome-Wide Analysis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis for the Identification of Potential Genetic Markers and Drug Candidates

“…Volonté et al reported that histaminergic modulation might be effective in ALS because histamine-related genes were dysregulated in the cortex and spinal cord in sporadic ALS patients [ 43 ]. Folic acid (enrichment score = 0.757 and p -value = 6.60 × 10 −3 ) with vitamin B12 was reported to delay disease onset and prolong lifespans in the ALS mouse model [ 44 ]. Adenosine phosphate (enrichment score = 0.734 and p -value = 9.83 × 10 −3 ) is involved in adenosine homeostasis that may reportedly play important roles in ALS progression [ 45 ].…”

Elucidating the Multi-Targeted Role of Nutraceuticals: A Complementary Therapy to Starve Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…Furthermore, extract of Korean red ginseng also prevented the activation of microglial cells and proinflammatory mediators and increased the activation of p38, NF-κb, JNK, and ERK MAPKs signaling pathways in striatum of a Huntington’s disease-like mice model induced by 3-nitropropionic acid [ 145 ]. In animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, studies revealed that vitamin C could reduce OS markers and Aβ formation, and restore behavioral deficits and memory impairment [ 146 ].…”

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“…Whether vitamin C deficiency might contribute to the development of ALS remains speculative and controversial. One cross-sectional study from China found lower serum vitamin C levels in PALS compared to healthy controls (8). Another found higher CSF vitamin C levels compared to healthy controls (9).…”