Fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease With Food

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a fatal condition that gradually suffocates its victims as it destroys the nerves controlling muscles and breathing. But researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have found a potential way to extend the lives of people suffering ALS.

The relatively simple method is for folks with ALS to consume more calories and carbohydrates.

“We are particularly excited because these results provide the first preliminary evidence that a dietary intervention may improve life expectancy in ALS, and they are strongly supported by epidemiological and animal data,” says researcher Anne-Marie Wills. “This strategy has never been tested before in ALS, and we are optimistic that it may provide a new, effective and inexpensive therapy for this devastating illness.”

About 15 years ago, studies showed that malnutrition was linked to shorter survivals in people with ALS. Many studies confirm that ALS sufferers who weigh more appear to live longer and have a slower disease progression of their illness.

“While it’s not possible to make clinical recommendations based on this single, small study, I think the results support the importance of avoiding weight loss in this disease,” says Wills. “We’re hoping to obtain funding for a large study of whether nutrition counseling to encourage weight gain — something not currently covered byhealth insurers — can help slow the progression of ALS, and I’m optimistic that interventions designed to maintain or increase weight could be even more effective if started before patients have lost a significant amount of weight.”