DIET & NUTRITION 
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OBESITY/WEIGHT MANAGEMENT 
EXERCISE/TRAINING 
LEGAL MATTERS 
GUIDELINES/RECOMMENDATIONS Alpha-linolenic acid is found in flaxseed, walnuts, chia, and canola and soybean oils.
A new study indicates a potential therapeutic avenue in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) management, focusing on the significant role of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid, in slowing disease progression and enhancing survival among ALS patients.
Key Points:
- High blood levels of an omega-3 fatty acid, ALA, are linked to slower disease progression and longer lifespan in ALS patients.
- The study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
- Blood samples from patients in the Phase 3 EMPOWER trial were used to conduct the research.
Additional Points:
- The research used fatty acid analyses of 449 patients from the EMPOWER trial, primarily males with a mean age of 57.5.
- Patients with the highest ALA levels had a 50% lower risk of death during the study follow-up than those with lower levels.
- The association remained significant even after accounting for confounding factors such as race and ethnicity, body mass index, symptom duration, site of disease onset, riluzole use, ALS family history, lung function, and treatment use in the trial.
Conclusion:
- The findings indicate a potential role for ALA in improving patient outcomes, leading researchers to seek to initiate a clinical trial for further validation.
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“We are now reaching out to clinical investigators to promote a randomized trial to determine whether ALA is beneficial in people with ALS. Obtaining funding will be challenging, because ALA is not a patentable drug, but we hope to get it done.”
Alberto Ascherio, MD, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
Harvard
