ALSUntangled #78: Zinc

Benjamin Helmold¹, George Nathaniel², Paul Barkhaus³, Tulio Bertorini⁴, Mark Bromberg⁵, Andrew Brown⁶, Gregory T Carter⁷, Vincent Chang⁸, Jesse Crayle⁹, Keelie Denson¹⁰, Jonathan Glass¹¹, Terry Heiman-Patterson¹², Esther Hobson¹³, Carlayne Jackson¹⁴, Sartaj Jhooty¹⁵, Elise Mallon², Nicholas Maragakis¹⁶, Javier Mascias Cadavid¹⁷, Christopher Mcdermott¹⁸, Gary Pattee¹⁹, Kaitlyn Pierce²⁰, Olivia Wang²¹, Paul Wicks²², Richard Bedlack⁸

Affiliations

¹ Medical School, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
² Undergraduate, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
⁷ Department of Rehabilitation, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis MO, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
¹¹ Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanda, GA.
¹² Department of Neurology, Temple Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹³ Department of Neurology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁴ Department of Neurology, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
¹⁷ ALS Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁸ Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁹ Department of Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
²⁰ Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
²¹ Independent Consultant, Milwaukee, WI, USA, and.
²² Independent Consultant, Lichfield, UK.

PMID: 40084393
DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2025.2476688

Review

ALSUntangled #78: Zinc

Benjamin Helmold et al. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2025 Aug.

. 2025 Aug;26(5-6):599-603.

doi: 10.1080/21678421.2025.2476688. Epub 2025 Mar 14.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Medical School, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
² Undergraduate, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
⁷ Department of Rehabilitation, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA.
⁸ Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis MO, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
¹¹ Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanda, GA.
¹² Department of Neurology, Temple Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹³ Department of Neurology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁴ Department of Neurology, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
¹⁷ ALS Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁸ Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁹ Department of Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
²⁰ Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
²¹ Independent Consultant, Milwaukee, WI, USA, and.
²² Independent Consultant, Lichfield, UK.

PMID: 40084393
DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2025.2476688

Abstract

ALSUntangled reviews alternative and off-label treatments for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (PALS). In this review, we assess the utilization of dietary zinc supplements for modulating ALS pathology and progression. Studies in mouse models of ALS have demonstrated that high-dose zinc supplementation may be harmful, but moderate doses could potentially be beneficial. Clinical data is limited, and only one trial has explored zinc supplementation within PALS. This study reported potential benefits in slowing ALS progression but lacked statistical analyses and failed to report quantitative evidence. Numerous case reports from individual patients at varying doses have demonstrated no benefit. Zinc supplements at moderate doses are generally low cost and not associated with severe complications, but further research is required to determine the safety and efficacy of zinc supplementation within PALS. Therefore, we cannot at this time, endorse zinc supplementation to slow ALS progression.

Keywords: Zinc; antioxidant; supplement.

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ALSUntangled #78: Zinc

Affiliations

ALSUntangled #78: Zinc

Authors

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Abstract

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LinkOut - more resources

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Medical

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