Study finds a high caloric diet may prevent the progression of amyotrophic lateral...( New York New York A recent study direc...)

New York, New York A recent study directed by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests a ketogenic- high caloric diet may prevent the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This study, which appears in the April 3, 2006 issue of BMC Neuroscience, is the first to draw a correlation between diet and neuronal cell death, the cause of ALS.

ALS is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder in which spinal and cortical motor neurons die causing relentlessly progressive weakness and wasting of skeletal muscles through the body.

"ALS is such a devastating disease for those individuals diagnosed with the disorder," said Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Neuroinflammation Research Center at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and lead author of this study. "The findings assert the significance of certain high caloric dietary intake in the prevention of ALS. In view of any available therapeutic application for the disease, this new evidence might bring hope to those affected."

The cause of neuronal death in ALS is uncertain but study researchers say mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role. Ketones promote mitochondrial energy production and membrane stabilization. Mitochondiral membrane dysfunction, loss of oxidative stress control, generation of excessive free radicals, neurofilament accumulation, and excitotoxicity are all implicated in the onset of ALS.

About the Study
Mount Sinai School of Medicine investigators used a mouse model to examine the affects of a ketogenic diet (KD) on the progression of ALS. ALS mice were fed a high caloric ketogenic diet (KD) and motor performance, longevity, and motor neuron counts were measured in treated and diseased mice. Because mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in neuronal cell death in ALS, the effect that the principal ketone body, D--3 hydroxybutyrate (DBH), has on mitochondrial ATP genera
'"/>

Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office
NewsMedia@mssm.edu
212-241-9200
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
17-Apr-2006

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Study begins to reveal clues to the cause and progression of sepsis
2. Study finds gender differences in renal and other genes contributing to blood pressure
3. Study suggests estrogen deficiency can lead to obesity-induced high blood pressure after menopause
4. Study: Sticking to the sand might not be such good, clean fun for beachgoers
5. Study points to new way to predict death risk from torn aorta
6. Study identifies new gene therapy tools for inherited blindness
7. Study finds contaminated water reaching Floridas offshore keys
8. Study sheds light on why humans walk on two legs
9. Study explains how pathogens evolve to escape detection
10. Study finds hereditary link to premenstrual depression
11. Study identifies energy efficiency as reason for evolution of upright walking