oxidative stress

[LaurentCH]

as wright already stated in another post, oxidative stress is among the main theories as a trigger of mnd. i have two autoimmune deseases that are a result of oxidative stress (vitiligo, pernicous anemia) caused by a too long vegetarian diet and too much of sport. and probably are also my fasciculations the result of an autoimmune process. but oxidative stress is very common, whty do some get nothing, others vitiligo and some als? why do not all get als then? is this just genetics? environmental influence? any comments on this?

 

[miss91]

I do agree with that theory of oxidative stress triggering ALS. I've read sooo much info the last couple of months! I also read that many with ALS were once very athletic.
I read an interesting article about the use of chemical fertilizers on the San Francisco 49's practice field - many of the players developed ALS.

The theory has apparently been disproven, but the question exists as to WHY athletes on a treated field became ill?

I have often wondered if pushing yourself physically to the extreme while breathing in fertilizers, chemicals, etc. would force the nervous system to shut down (ALS)? I live right next to a cornfield that has been sprayed, and before this, I lived next to a major manufacturing plant. In fact, we built our home to get AWAY from the plant. I have been a very active outdoor runner/walker and I wonder if these environmental factors have anything to do with my neurological symptoms. I was not happy to read in the article that my area (SW WI) has a higher ALS incidence than other parts of the state.
However, not everyone that exercises outside here gets ALS, so I agree there has to be something genetically "open" to ALS and other ailments.

 

[LaurentCH]

i thought that also sport per se can cause oxidative stress, don't need environmental toxins.

 

[wright]

I don't want to seem like I'm picking on you, LaurentCH (I just responded to another one of your posts) but no one knows exactly why vitiligo occurs other than it's autoimmune and pernicious anemia is caused by a lack of vitamin B12. As I said to you in my other post, please stop making statements that are not correct because it does nothing but spread misinformation on the internet and causes a tremendous amount of confusion.

Missy

All of the evidence you quote is more or less anectodal at the moment and certainly needs to be further investigated before any conclusions are made. There are so many theories as to why unsolved diseases occur, and just when they think they find the answers, further investigation shows they were wrong. This happens all of the time. That is why we must be careful with wild speculation without definitive proof.

 

[LaurentCH]

wright, the most reputated professor on vitiligo, prof. schallreuter, told me that vitiligo is the result of oxydative stress. they have no doubt about that. and that it is often seen together with b12-defency. i have no problem you are picking on me. my english is unfortunately not good enough to understand the whole meaning of your answers.:-(

 

[CB1977]

Nobody knows at this point what causes ALS. They also don’t really know what doesn’t cause ALS so all of these things that are talked about on this forum and others are suspects. I think speculation is a good thing, everything starts with speculation or hypothesis then investigation and conclusion occurs. One thing that is relevant with sporadic ALS- There are clusters of ALS in certain geographic areas in the US and throughout the world. Some where the prevalence of ALS is 3-10 times higher per capita than that of the general population (Guam, the recent cluster found in Mascoma Lake-New Hampshire, the Italian soccer team that had 5 players get it, the 49ers team that had 3 players, varsity athletes in general, ect.) This makes me think that there is something (or multiple things) that are environmental that either causes or triggers ALS. My opinion is that it is either multiple things coming together in a very precise order or someone is somehow genetically predisposed to getting ALS and if they come in contact with the triggers then it can activate the process. I am no expert though and this is only my opinion, I just wish scientists would figure it out already because I don’t think anyone should have to suffer though a horrible disease like ALS.

Cb1977

 

[wright]

I'm all for discussion. What I'm not for, is wild speculation and incorrectly worded statements that spread misinformation on this forum and consequently, on the internet.

LaurentCH

Not to get off topic on an ALS forum, but vitiligo is absolutely an autoimmune disease that causes a whole gamet of things to occur within the melanocytes. Oxidative stress is certainly part of the cascade of events but there are other events that occur prior to that . . . unkown events (that was my point in my earlier post) that will shed light on how to prevent it, as opposed to simply treating it.

This is exactly how they are trying to determine the cause of ALS and how to cure it and treat it. You were correct in saying that in the past I have stated that oxidative stress is a leading theory when it comes to ALS. That is just one piece of the puzzle, though. The way science is tackling the mystery of ALS, is trying to determine what is causing that oxidative stress and why those that get ALS have an upregulation of oxidative stress and/or do not have the ability to combat it. CB was dead-on when he said that it is more than likely that those that have ALS, are somehow predisposed to it. That is ultimately what needs to be determined.

I applaud your thirst for knowledge but please, please be careful with your statements.