Abstract

Currently, there are no effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease. Although the etiology of ALS is unknown, it is thought that factors such as diet, the environment, and lifestyle habits play a role. The pathogenesis of ALS includes alterations in glutamate neurotransmission, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction. Drugs such as riluzole, edaravone, dextromethorphan/quinidine combinations, and the administration of tofersen by injection are approved treatment options for ALS although a number of other agents are being examined in clinical trials. Despite these developments, the availability of effective treatment options is limited. This review summarizes the etiology and pathogenesis of ALS and describes treatments in detail as an integrative medicine approach and including traditional Chinese medicine together with the importance of the timing for interventions, precautions necessary for noninvasive ventilator and gastrostomy surgery, and precautions for dealing with respiratory issues with the overall aim of providing state-of-the-art clinical recommendations for the care and therapy of ALS patients.

Author Details

Authors

• Wei Jing¹
• Yutong Shan¹
• Haisheng Wu²
• Tingting Li¹
• Haiyan Tang¹
• Yan Sun¹
• Voratunyakit Napattharin¹
• Shikay Loong¹
• Baofeng Qin¹
• Weidong Pan¹,²,³

Departments

• ¹ Department of Neurology, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai,
• ² Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Armed Police Hospital of Anhui, and
• ³ First Department of Encephalopathy, Anhui Branch of Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM, Anhui, China

Address

Dr. Baofeng Qin, Department of Neurology, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai, 201203, China, and Professor Weidong Pan, Department of Neurology, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM Shanghai, 201203, China
Email: [email protected]

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