Aluminum deposition in the central nervous system of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from the Kii Peninsula of Japan

Abstract

Chronic dietary deficiency of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) with excessive intake of aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of high incidence amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the Western Pacific. We report two cases of ALS from the Kii Peninsula of Japan with markedly elevated concentrations of Al in central nervous system (CNS) tissues. Six pathologically verified cases of ALS and five neurologically normal controls were studied. Levels of Al, Ca and phosphorus (P) were determined simultaneously by neutron activation analysis (NAA), and Mg concentration was measured by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP) in 26 CNS regions. Al concentrations in the precentral gyrus, internal capsule, crus cerebri and spinal cord were significantly increased in two ALS patients, compared with those of controls. Mean Al concentrations of the 26 CNS regions in these two patients were also higher than those of controls and of the four other ALS cases (p less than 0.01). By contrast, Mg concentrations in the 26 CNS regions were markedly reduced in the ALS cases, compared with controls (p less than 0.01), and the Ca/Mg ratios were significantly increased in the ALS cases (p less than 0.01). Our data indicate that high-incidence ALS in the Western Pacific may result from Ca-Mg dysmetabolism with resultant deposition of Al.