ReviewNeurotoxicity research2019
Fungal Neurotoxins and Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
Review in Neurotoxicity research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Exploring dysregulated miRNAs in ALS: implications for disease pathogenesis and early diagnosis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Pooled it
- The Emerging Role of the Brain-Gut Axis in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Pathogenesis, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Microbiome and micronutrient in ALS: From novel mechanisms to new treatments.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Review
- Mycotoxins and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Food Exposure, Nutritional Implications and Dietary Solutions.CNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2024Review
- Retrovirus-DerivedInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis exposome: recent advances and future directions.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2023Review
- Differential effects of exposure to toxic or nontoxic mold spores on brain inflammation and Morris water maze performance.Behavioural brain research · 2023Article
- Early-onset, conjugal, twin-discordant, and clusters of sporadic ALS: Pathway to discovery of etiologyFrontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Approaches to Gene Modulation Therapy for ALS.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2022Review
- The roles of fungus in CNS autoimmune and neurodegeneration disorders.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Neuroimmune Crosstalk Between the Peripheral and the Central Immune System in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Review
- Mold, Mycotoxins and a Dysregulated Immune System: A Combination of Concern?International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Neuroinflammation: An Integrating Overview of Reactive-Neuroimmune Cell Interactions in Health and Disease.Mediators of inflammation · 2021Review
- Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2021Review
- Brain diseases in changing climate.Environmental research · 2019Review
- Fungal-contaminated grass and well water and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Neural regeneration research · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We review several lines of evidence that point to a potential fungal origin of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is the most common form of motor neuron disease (MND) in adults. It is a progressive and fatal disease. Approximately 90% cases of ALS are sporadic, and 5-10% are due to genetic mutations (familial). About 25 genes implicated in familial ALS have been identified so far, including SOD1 and TARDBP, the gene encoding 43 kDa transactive response (TAR) DNA-binding protein (TDP-43). Despite intensive research over many decades, the aetiology of sporadic ALS is still unknown. An environmental cause, including grass or soil-associated fungal infections, is suggested from a range of widely diverse lines of evidence. Clusters of ALS have been reported in soccer players, natives of Guam and farmers. Grass-associated fungi are known to produce a range of neurotoxins and, in symbiotic associations, high levels of fungal SOD1. Exposure of neurons to fungal neurotoxins elicits a significant increase in glutamate production. High levels of glutamate stimulate TDP-43 translocation and modification, providing a link between fungal infection and one of the molecular and histologic hallmarks of sporadic ALS. A recent study provided evidence of a variety of fungi in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue of ALS patients. This review provides a rational explanation for this observation. If a fungal infection could be confirmed as a potential cause of ALS, this could provide a straightforward treatment strategy for this fatal and incurable disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
30515715What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.