Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in the Kii Peninsula of Japan : THe History of the research Works Conducted by Division of Neurological Diseases, Wakayama Medical College

概要

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Epidemiological surveys in the foci of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) of the Kii Peninsula of Japan started in early 1960s. Continuous surveys conducted by Division of Neurological Diseases, Wakayama Medical College for decades revealed that there have been two foci of ALS in the Kii Peninsula ; one is Kozagawa in the southern part and the other Hobara in the southeast. Clinically, besides manifestations commonly seen in patients with ALS, ALS patients of the Kii foci occasionally showed parkinsonian features or dementia that have not been reported in the sporadic form of ALS. Neuropathologically, numerous neurofibrillary tangles that were identical to those of Alzheimer's disease were observed in the cerebral cortex and in the brain stem nuclei. To elucidate the etiopathogenesis of this unique form of ALS, we have conducted the analysis of the environments in the focus area and the specimens from the patients with ALS, and hypothesized that long exposure to the environments with low calcium and magnesium and excess of aluminum and manganese in the drinking water and the soil might lead to the deposition of some trace elements in the central nervous system, eventually causing neuronal degeneration and death.
関西鍼灸大学の論文
2000-09-30