Copper Supplement's may Lower Risk of Lou Gehrig's Disease

A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience shows that a copper compound may be able to treat Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

By using the compound in supplemental therapy, researchers found that it can potentially extend the lifespan of ALS patients by up to 26 percent. This is comparatively better than the minimum success of current ALS treatments that are commonly associated with mutations in superoxide dismutase--an antioxidant also known as SOD1.

Lead study author Dr. Su-Chun Zhang further explained that the correction of this mutation or protein inhibitor could "potentially rescue the nerve cell." The new study shows that copper therapy has the ability to do that.

The study findings revealed that restoring the proper balance of copper in the brain could help signal the correction in the brain and spinal cord of the SOD1 function through the slowed progression of nerve cell degradation.

Researchers, however, said that their therapy is very selective as to where copper levels are raised or restored. "Copper itself is necessary but can be toxic, so its levels are tightly controlled in the body," said lead researcher Joseph Beckman, in a statement. "The therapy we're working toward delivers copper selectively into the cells in the spinal cord that actually need it. Otherwise, the compound keeps copper inert."

After testing the therapy out on mice, they discovered that the creatures' lifespan progressed by about 26 percent compared to those that were left untreated.