Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as an infectious disease: A possible role of cyanobacteria?

Stipa, Giuseppe; Taiuti, R; Scisciolo, G. de; Arnetoli, G.; Tredici, Mario R.; Biondi, Natascia; Barsanti, Laura; Lolli, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.04.070

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…Italian reporters emphasized the presence of ALS cases among subjects who played in few specific teams, claiming the role of some environmental factors such as the contamination of the soccer field by herbicides or cyanobacteria. 30 This data was never verified because the number of detected cases in each team was too small. We had the chance to analyse all the teams including two or more ALS cases.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Increased risk and early onset of ALS in professional players from Italian Soccer Teams

Pupillo

Bianchi

Vanacore

et al. 2020

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration

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Objective: Since the observation of several deaths from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among Italian professional soccer players, an association between ALS and soccer has been postulated. The objective of the study is to investigate the association between professional soccer and the risk of ALS in a large cohort of former professional soccer players with prolonged follow-up.Methods: All professional soccer players practicing in the period 1959-2000 were identified through the archives of an Italian soccer cards publisher. For each player, date and place of birth, playing role and team history were recorded. Each player was followed since 15 years of age.Incident ALS cases were all soccer players first diagnosed during the period 1959-2018. The expected incidence rate was the number of ALS cases/100,000 person-years expected in the cohort. SIR was the ratio between observed and expected incidence rate.Results: 34 ALS cases were detected. The number of expected cases was 17.8. The SIR was 1.91 (95% CI 1.32-2.67) in the entire sample and 4.66 (95% CI 2.66-7.57) in subjects aged less than 45 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 45.0 years. Compared to the mean age of onset of ALS in the general population (65.2 years), the disease in former soccer players occurred 20.2 years earlier.Conclusions: Professional soccer players are at higher risk of developing ALS than the general population. Soccer players with ALS develop the disease at a younger than expected age.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Increased risk and early onset of ALS in professional players from Italian Soccer Teams

Pupillo

Bianchi

Vanacore

et al. 2020

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration

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“…While few exposures have been definitely linked to ALS, some exposures that have been suggested to be linked to ALS and are more common in the military include: insecticides 8,9 , aerosolized lead 8,10 , traumatic injury 11-13 , viral infections 14,15 , and intense physical activity. 16,17 Military workers are also potentially exposed to organic solvents and formaldehyde, both of which have been suggested as linked to ALS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ALS and the Military

Seals¹,

Kioumourtzoglou²,

Hansen³

et al. 2015

Epidemiology

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Background Prior studies have suggested that military service may be associated with the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We conducted a population-based case-control study in Denmark to assess whether occupation in the Danish military is associated with an increased risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Methods There were 3,650 incident cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis recorded in the Danish National Patient Registry between 1982 and 2009. Each case was matched to 100 age- and sex-matched population controls alive and free of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on the date of the case diagnosis. Comprehensive occupational history was obtained from the Danish Pension Fund database, which began in 1964. Results 2.4% (n=8,922) of controls had a history of employment in the military prior to the index date. Military employees overall had an elevated rate of ALS (OR=1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.6). A ten-year increase in years employed by the military was associated with an odds ratio of 1.2 (95% CI: 1.0-1.4), and all quartiles of time employed were elevated. There was little suggestion of a pattern across calendar year of first employment, but there was some evidence that increasing age at first employment was associated with increased ALS rates. Rates were highest in the decade immediately following the end of employment (OR=1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2). Conclusions In this large population-based case-control study, employment by the military is associated with increased rates of ALS. These findings are consistent with earlier findings that military service or employment may entail exposure to risk factors for ALS.

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“…These include: human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), Chlamydia pneumoniae, cyanobacteria and other infections [43][44][45]. Chronic infections plus other defects (accumulation of glutamate causing excitotoxicity, deficiency of nerve growth factor, autoimmune reactions against motor neurons and dysfunction of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase) have been proposed to be important in ALS pathogenesis [review : 2].…”

Section: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Als)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurodegenerative and Fatiguing Illnesses, Infections and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Use of Natural Supplements to Improve Mitochondrial Function.

Nicolson

Settineri

Ellithorpe³

2014

FFHD

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Background: Many chronic diseases and illnesses are associated with one or more chronic infections, dysfunction of mitochondria and reduced production of ATP. This results in fatigue and other symptoms that occur in most if not all chronic conditions and diseases.Methods: This is a review of the published literature on chronic infections in neurodegenerative diseases and fatiguing illnesses that are also typified by mitochondrial dysfunction. This contribution also reviews the use of natural supplements to enhance mitochondrial function and reduce the effects of chronic infections to improve overall function in various chronic illnesses.Results: Mitochondrial function can be enhanced by the use of various natural supplements, notably Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT) using glyerolphospholipids and other mitochondrial supplements. In various chronic illnesses that are characterized by the presence of chronic infections, such as intracellular bacteria (Mycoplasma, Borrelia, Chlamydia and other infections) and viruses, LRT has proven useful in multiple clinical trials. For example, in clinical studies on chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome and other chronic fatiguing illnesses where a large majority of patients have chronic infections, LRT significantly reduced fatigue by 35-43% in different clinical trials and increased mitochondrial function. In clinical trials on patients with multiple intracellular bacterial infections and intractable fatigue LRT plus other mitochondrial supplements significantly decreased fatigue and improved mood and cognition.Conclusions: LRT formulations designed to improve mitochondrial function appear to be useful as non-toxic dietary supplements for reducing fatigue and restoring mitochondrial and other cellular membrane functions in patients with chronic illnesses and multiple chronic infections. BackgroundPatients with chronic neurodegenerative, neurobehavioral and fatiguing illnesses commonly test positive for systemic and central nervous system (CNS) bacterial and viral infections [1][2][3]. In addition, other chronic illnesses where neurological manifestations are routinely found, such as autoimmune diseases and other chronic illnesses and disorders, also show evidence of systemic bacterial and viral infections that could be important in disease inception, progression and/or enhancing the types and severities of signs and symptoms [2,3].Evidence of bacterial infections, such as Mycoplasma species, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Borrelia burgdorferi, among others, and viruses, such as human herpesvirus (HHV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), human herpes viruses (HHV) and other viral infections, have revealed high rates of infection in the illnesses listed above that were not found in control populations [1][2][3]. Although the specific roles of chronic infections in various diseases and their pathogeneses have not been carefully determined, the data suggest that chronic bacterial and/or viral infections are common features of essentially all progressive chronic diseases [1][2][3].An...

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Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as an infectious disease: A possible role of cyanobacteria?

Cited by 18 publications

References 89 publications

Increased risk and early onset of ALS in professional players from Italian Soccer Teams

Increased risk and early onset of ALS in professional players from Italian Soccer Teams

ALS and the Military

Neurodegenerative and Fatiguing Illnesses, Infections and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Use of Natural Supplements to Improve Mitochondrial Function.

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