A diet high in sugar can help fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Charcot’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease with few treatment options, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Previous studies had already shown that mild obesity was associated with greater survival in patients with this disease, and that a diet high in calories increased the survival of genetically modified mice.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston set out to assess the safety and tolerability of two high-calorie diets in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis receiving enteral nutrition (nutrition that provides the body with macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) directly into the stomach or intestine through a catheter).
The 20 participants were divided into three groups. A control group and two other groups who received 25% more calories than their needs either through a diet enriched in carbohydrates (sugars) or lipids (fats).
The volunteers were fed this way for 4 months and were medically monitored for 5 months. The researchers found that the high-carbohydrate diet caused fewer side effects, and that no deaths occurred in this group as 3 control volunteers died.
“This pilot study demonstrates that this new treatment is safe, simple and inexpensive for a devastating disease where currently very few treatment options are available,” says study co-author Anne-Marie Wills. “Our results provide preliminary evidence that high-calorie enteral nutrition is safe and well tolerated in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. “
According to the Association for Research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Arsla), this neurological disease affects around 8,000 people in France. It is characterized by the progressive degeneration and death of the motor neurons responsible for the functioning of the muscles, resulting in paralysis of the limbs.
