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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
06:49
A Quick Phenotypic Neurological Scoring System for Evaluating Disease Progression in the SOD1-G93A Mouse Model of ALS
Published on: October 6, 2015
Diet and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Natalia Morozova1, Marc G Weisskopf, Marjorie L McCullough
1Departments of *Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA. nmorozov@hsph.harvard.edu
Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
|February 28, 2008
Summary
This prospective study found no convincing dietary links to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mortality. Chicken consumption showed a potential inverse association, warranting further investigation in ALS research.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Nutritional Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Previous case-control studies suggested dietary factors influence amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk.
- No prospective studies have examined the relationship between diet and ALS.
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with limited understanding of contributing factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively investigate the association between specific food and beverage consumption and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mortality.
- To evaluate the role of diet in the risk of developing or dying from ALS.
- To provide evidence-based dietary recommendations for ALS prevention.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of over 1 million participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II.
- Dietary habits assessed using a 44-item food frequency questionnaire.
- Follow-up for ALS mortality from 1989 to 2002.
Main Results:
- 862 ALS deaths occurred during the follow-up period.
- An inverse association was observed between chicken consumption and ALS mortality (P for trend = 0.0006).
- Other observed associations (e.g., brown rice, decaffeinated coffee, tea, French fries) were not significant after multiple comparisons adjustment.
Conclusions:
- The study did not find convincing evidence linking the investigated foods and beverages to ALS mortality.
- The potential inverse association between chicken consumption and ALS mortality requires further research.
- Dietary guidelines for ALS prevention cannot be established based on these findings.
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