Diabetes Mellitus and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.
Biomolecules 2021;
11:biom11060867. [PMID:
34200812 PMCID:
PMC8230511 DOI:
10.3390/biom11060867]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerative disorder which affects the motor neurons. Growing evidence suggests that ALS may impact the metabolic system, including the glucose metabolism. Several studies investigated the role of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) as risk and/or prognostic factor. However, a clear correlation between DM and ALS has not been defined. In this review, we focus on the role of DM in ALS, examining the different hypotheses on how perturbations of glucose metabolism may interact with the pathophysiology and the course of ALS.
METHODS
We undertook an independent PubMed literature search, using the following search terms: ((ALS) OR (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) OR (Motor Neuron Disease)) AND ((Diabetes) OR (Glucose Intolerance) OR (Hyperglycemia)). Review and original articles were considered.
RESULTS
DM appears not to affect ALS severity, progression, and survival. Contrasting data suggested a protective role of DM on the occurrence of ALS in elderly and an opposite effect in younger subjects.
CONCLUSIONS
The actual clinical and pathophysiological correlation between DM and ALS is unclear. Large longitudinal prospective studies are needed. Achieving large sample sizes comparable to those of common complex diseases like DM is a challenge for a rare disease like ALS. Collaborative efforts could overcome this specific issue.
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