Benjamin Helmold, George Nathaniel, Paul Barkhaus, Tulio Bertorini, Mark Bromberg, Andrew Brown, Gregory T Carter, Vincent Chang, Jesse Crayle, Keelie Denson, Jonathan Glass, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Esther Hobson, Carlayne Jackson, Sartaj Jhooty, Elise Mallon, Nicholas Maragakis, Javier Mascias Cadavid, Christopher Mcdermott, Gary Pattee, Kaitlyn Pierce, Olivia Wang, Paul Wicks, Richard Bedlack
Author Information
Benjamin Helmold: Medical School, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
George Nathaniel: Undergraduate, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Paul Barkhaus: Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Tulio Bertorini: Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
Mark Bromberg: Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Andrew Brown: Department of Neurology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
Gregory T Carter: Department of Rehabilitation, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA.
Vincent Chang: Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Jesse Crayle: Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis MO, USA.
Keelie Denson: Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
Jonathan Glass: Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanda, GA.
Terry Heiman-Patterson: Department of Neurology, Temple Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Esther Hobson: Department of Neurology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Carlayne Jackson: Department of Neurology, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Sartaj Jhooty: Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Elise Mallon: Undergraduate, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Nicholas Maragakis: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Javier Mascias Cadavid: ALS Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain.
Christopher Mcdermott: Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. ORCID
Gary Pattee: Department of Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Kaitlyn Pierce: Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Olivia Wang: Independent Consultant, Milwaukee, WI, USA, and.
Paul Wicks: Independent Consultant, Lichfield, UK. ORCID
Richard Bedlack: Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
ALSUntangled reviews alternative and off-label treatments for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (PALS). In this review, we assess the utilization of dietary zinc supplements for modulating ALS pathology and progression. Studies in mouse models of ALS have demonstrated that high-dose zinc supplementation may be harmful, but moderate doses could potentially be beneficial. Clinical data is limited, and only one trial has explored zinc supplementation within PALS. This study reported potential benefits in slowing ALS progression but lacked statistical analyses and failed to report quantitative evidence. Numerous case reports from individual patients at varying doses have demonstrated no benefit. Zinc supplements at moderate doses are generally low cost and not associated with severe complications, but further research is required to determine the safety and efficacy of zinc supplementation within PALS. Therefore, we cannot at this time, endorse zinc supplementation to slow ALS progression.
