Zinc might be new weapon in war on Lou Gehrig's disease

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Zinc might be new weapon in war on Lou Gehrig's diseaseBy OSU News Service PORTLAND -Researchers at Oregon State University may have gained ground in the battle against Lou Gehrig's disease.Growing evidence suggests that supplements of zinc and certain antioxidants may slow disease progression in transgenic animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers said at a national conference on Diet and Optimum Health.Joseph Beckman, director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center at Oregon State University and a member of OSU's Linus Pauling Institute, said that zinc has shown some value in studies done with mice that have a mutation that makes them prone to ALS."Recently we've been asking whether you could treat Lou Gehrig's disease by giving more zinc, and could the disease elevate more rapidly if you are zinc-deficient?" Beckman said.The research results have been promising. Studies indicate that mice that are deficient in zinc develop the disease faster, Beckman said, and those that receive supplements of zinc survive longer.Zinc also improves immune function. And there appears to be a connection between this nutrient and levels of the oxidant peroxynitrite, a natural compound produced by cells that may cause motor neurons to die."These findings point to zinc as a possible factor in the treatment of ALS," Beckman said. "About 10 percent of the U.S. population is zinc deficient at any given moment - vegetarians in particular. Moderate intake of zinc supplements under 50 milligrams per day may be helpful in general, though higher dosages can lead to copper deficiency and anemia."These and other studies about neurodegenerative disease, heart disease, cancer and other major health problems were presented at a professional conference on the role of diet in promoting optimal health, held in Portland and sponsored by the Linus Pauling Institute.Beckman has studied Lou Gehrig's disease for 10 years, exploring the underlying biochemical causes of this fatal illness, which causes the death of motor neurons through a period of about eight months to five years. The symptoms of ALS can result from the progressive death of a surprisingly small number of lower motor neurons controlling all voluntary muscles, leading to rapid muscle degeneration, paralysis and eventually death.ALS can develop quickly within the body, researchers say. People are born with about a half-million motor neurons that send out messages and make contact with the body's muscles. Upon development of ALS these neurons begin to shut off one by one, causing loss of mobility in the body. The neurons cannot be regenerated.Beckman hopes to find a way to stop the disease before too much damage is done."My goal would be to turn this disease into something that resembles post-polio, where the motor neuron damage is not progressive," he said."People would still be able to continue to live and function with relatively minor impairment."Related research of particular interest, Beckman says, points to the possible role of peroxynitrite in ALS and perhaps other neurodegenerative diseases. This inorganic oxidant is an essential component of the human immune system and probably evolved to help fight infectious disease. But in some situations excess levels of peroxynitrite appear to trigger a process that leads to motor neuron degeneration and death.In addition to zinc, a number of other antioxidants are under investigation to help prevent motor neuron death in ALS, with promising results in vitro.These studies are supported by the National Institutes of Health.-- 2003 Corvallis Gazette-Timeshttp://www.pintsize.com/awakenings/