Healing of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating disease leading to death within 3-5 years in most cases. New approaches to treating this disease are needed. Here, we report a successful therapy. Case Report: In a 49-year-old male patient suffering from muscle weakness and fasciculations, progressive muscular atrophy, a variant of ALS, was diagnosed after extensive examinations ruling out other diseases. Due to supposed mercury exposure from residual amalgam, the patient's teeth were restored. Then, the patient received sodium 2,3-dimercaptopropanesulfate (DMPS; overall 86 × 250 mg in 3 years) in combination with α-lipoic acid and followed by selenium. In addition, he took vitamins and micronutrients and kept a vegetarian diet. The excretion of metals was monitored in the urine. The success of the therapy was followed by scoring muscle weakness and fasciculations and finally by electromyography (EMG) of the affected muscles. First improvements occurred after the dental restorations. Two months after starting therapy with DMPS, the mercury level in the urine was increased (248.4 µg/g creatinine). After 1.5 years, EMG confirmed the absence of typical signs of ALS. In the course of 3 years, the patient recovered completely. Conclusions: The therapy described here is a promising approach to treating some kinds of motor neuron disease and merits further evaluation in rigorous trials.

A Comparison of Mercury Exposure from Seafood Consumption and Dental Amalgam Fillings in People with and without Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): An International Online Case-Control Study

“…Interest has been rekindled in the mercury hypothesis for ALS [22] with a report of increased toenail mercury in people with ALS, possibly related to seafood consumption [23]. In addition, occasional reports have suggested that removing dental amalgam fillings, or chelation therapy, can result in stabilization or recovery from some forms of ALS [24]. We therefore sought to determine whether people with ALS are more likely than controls without ALS to be exposed to higher levels of mercury from these sources, using an online international questionnaire that gathered data on seafood and dental amalgam sources of mercury.…”

A chemogenomic approach seems indispensable for effective treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

“…Incidentally, an SALS patient was identified who suffered ALS due to mercury intoxication and was treated with a combination of the chelator 2,3-dimercaptopropanesulfate and a-lipoic acid for mercury cleansing that was expected to ameliorate symptoms. In fact, this case turned to be the first reported ALS cure (Mangelsdorf et al, 2017). This is reminiscent of the loss of metal homeostasis reported in Alzheimer disease, for which either Zn 2+ supplementation or Fe 3+ /Al 3+ chelation therapies have been suggested (Adlard and Bush, 2018).…”

Young-onset Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis with Rare Skin Manifestation: Case Report and Literature Review

“…Baseline studies, including complete blood count (CBC), biochemistry profile, serum electrolytes, LFTs, and RFTs test, should be carried out to assess the patient's overall health. Other specific tests include EMG, NCS, CPK levels, TFTs, autoantibody screen (ANA and ENA profile), chest X-ray, and MRI should be done in all patients who are suspected of having ALS [1,12,13]. Some investigations such as muscle biopsy, tumor markers, blood gases, viral serology, serum B12 or folate levels, genetic testing, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture should be done when needed to rule out other differentials [1].…”