ALS, tests on some patients: vitamin B12 slows the progression of the disease

A treatment based on methylcobalamin – a form of vitamin B12 – is able to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in some patients: those with recently onset symptoms and less aggressive forms of the disease. This is what a trial conducted in 25 Japanese health centers and published in Jama Neurology.

For some years now, methylcobalamin has been at the center of attention of researchers dealing with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: animal tests have in fact shown that its use at a high dosage is capable of counteracting motor symptoms and nerve damage associated with the disease. However, human experiments had mixed results, which led to the belief that the effectiveness of the treatment could be limited to specific categories of patients.

The best results in patients whose disease had recently appeared

In this case, the trial involved 130 patients whose disease had appeared recently (less than a year) and had a tendency to progress slowly. After 16 weeks of treatment, the researchers observed that patients who received the drug nearly halved the rate of disease progression.

Specifically, patients treated with methylcobalamin had a worsening of 2.66 points on the ALSFRS-R scale, the one most used to monitor the progression of disability in patients with ALS. Patients who received a placebo experienced a 4.63 point worsening. Furthermore, no safety problems emerged from the experimentation.

The researchers point out that, although positive, these results are valid only for this specific type of patient. Furthermore, no information is available on the long-term efficacy of the treatment.