Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as an infectious disease: A possible role of cyanobacteria?
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- 作者：Giuseppe Stipa ; Rosanna Taiuti ; Giuseppe de Scisciolo ; Graziano Arnetoli ; Mario R. Tredici ; Natascia Biondi ; Laura Barsanti ; Francesco Lolli
- 关键词：Autism ; Autism spectrum disorders ; Spironolactone ; Androgen ; Testosterone ; Neuroglia ; Neuroinflammation ; Inflammation ; Immune dysregulation ; Anti-inflammatory ; Anti-androgen
- 刊名：Medical Hypotheses
- 出版年：2006
- 出版时间：2006
- 年：2006
- 卷：67
- 期：6
- 页码：1363-1371
- 全文大小：143 K
文摘
The available epidemiological data for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) support an infectious etiology and lead us to propose a new hypotheses. We examined older epidemiological data concerning categories of the population with increased incidence (aged people, people living in rural areas, farmers, breeders), more recent epidemiological reports regarding Italian soccer players, AIDS patients, people living in highly polluted areas, and reports of cases of conjugal and pregnancy-associated ALS. The toxic and infectious hypotheses lead us to suggest a role for cyanobacteria in the production of endogenous β-N-methylamino-l-alanine. Infection from a cyanobacterium, or another ubiquitous bacterium having similar characteristics, may be the missing clue to the etiology of ALS. We speculate that ubiquitous bacteria secreting toxic amino acids and “colonizing” tissues and organs in the human body might be the common element linking motor neuron diseases in Guam to sporadic ALS in the rest of the world.