Year: 2022
Type: review
Abstract: ALSUntangled reviews alternative and off-label treatments for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (PALS). Here we review glucocorticoids. Neuroinflammation plays a prominent role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathogenesis, so some hypothesize that glucocorticoids might be an effective ALS therapy through their immunosuppressive effects. In this paper, we review the available evidence for glucocorticoids in ALS, including one pre-clinical study with a genetic mouse model of ALS, nine case reports (ranging from 1 to 26 patients each), and four clinical trials. We also review the possible side effects (including steroid myopathy) and the costs of therapy. We graded the level of evidence as follows: Mechanism, D; Pre-Clinical, F; Cases, B; Trials, F; Risks, C. Our review of the current evidence concludes that glucocorticoids do not offer clinical benefit in ALS and confer serious risks. Thus, ALSUntangled does not recommend glucocorticoids as a treatment for ALS.
Authors: Jill Ann Goslinga, Mark Terrelonge, Richard Bedlack, Paul Barkhaus, Benjamin Barnes, Tulio Bertorini, Mark Bromberg, Gregory Carter, Amy Chen, Jesse Crayle, Mazen Dimachkie, Leanne Jiang, Gleb Levitsky, Isaac Lund, Sarah Martin, Christopher Mcdermott, Gary Pattee, Kaitlyn Pierce, Dylan Ratner, Lenka Slachtova, Yuyao Sun, Paul Wicks
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, Duke University, Medical College of Wisconsin, Augusta University, Augusta University Health, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Utah, University of Utah Health Care, Medical University of South Carolina, Washington University in St. Louis, The University of Kansas Health System, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Russian Space Systems, University of Sheffield, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, LeTourneau University, Long Beach Unified School District, Chiba prefectural Matsudo international high school, Manhattan High School, Longwood Gardens, Charles University
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4292723090