Components of vitamin E called tocotrienols help protect nerve cells from damage after a stroke. Because paralysis is a common and devastating outcome of ALS, the hope is that tocotrienols may offer similar protections to halt the disease's progression. It is essential that you seek your doctor's advice before using tocotrienols for ALS treatment.
About Tocotrienols
There are two classes of micronutrients collectively referred to as vitamin E: tocopherols and tocotrienols. They are the major fat-soluble antioxidant responsible for protecting cellular membranes from oxidation. According to researchers reporting in the December 2004 issue of the "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences," vitamin E plays a central role in maintaining neurological structure and function. It's been demonstrated vitamin E is essential for normal nerve communications and that supplemented vitamin E reaches the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Tocotrienols are more powerful antioxidants than tocopherols and can protect neurons from damage by toxins.
About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It affects the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement. Cells in the brain and spinal cord known as motor neurons gradually degenerate. Their death stops the transmission of neural impulses to muscle fibers, leading to weakness and paralysis. Although the disease can paralyze voluntary muscles, patients remain alert and are able to think clearly. According to the ALS Association website, no two patients will have the same experiences. There are documented cases of people in whom ALS stops progressing or progresses at a very slow rate.
Neuroprotective Properties
Researchers reporting in the September 2006 issue of the "Journal of Neurochemistry" discovered a promising neuroprotective property of tocotrienols. A neurotransmitter named glutamate is important to learning and memory. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that push electrical signals across the space between neurons known as synapses to create communication pathways. After a stroke an excessive amount of glutamate is released and it becomes toxic, destroying brain cells and producing the paralyzing effects of stroke. The researchers found that tocotrienols effectively short-circuited glutamate and worked as well as a drug in protecting against neuronal damage.
Protection Pathways
A July 2011 article published by "Medical News Today" reported newer research by the same scientists in the journal "Stroke." The newer study advances knowledge of tocotrienols' neuroprotective properties by identifying three additional ways they confer benefits. The first is that tocotrienols trigger production of a protein the clears toxins from nerve cells. The second is that the vitamin stops an enzyme from releasing toxic fatty acids and third, it protects against RNA damage that would otherwise lead to deformed genes. The researchers called tocotrienols a "gifted molecule" and assert the vitamin holds great therapeutic potential for ALS patients.
References
- "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences"; Tocotrienol: the Natural Vitamin E to Defend the Nervous System?; Chandan Sen et al.; December 2004
- ALS Association: What is ALS?
- "Journal of Neurochemistry"; Characterization of the Potent Neuroprotective Properties of the Natural Vitamin E α-tocotrienol; Savita Khanna et al.; September 2006
- "Medical News Today" Vitamin E Tocotrienol Protects Brain Against Stroke In 3 Ways; Staff Reporter; July 6, 2011
