Ashwagandha
Information on nutritional supplements people with ALS have been taking
Withania somnifera, commonly known as ashwagandha, is an herb used in Ayurveda medicine.
Effects on ALS
Discussion threads on the ALSTDI forum
Ashwagandha Reverses TDP-43 Proteinopathy in a Mouse Model of ALS/FTD
References
Neurotherapeutics. 2016 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print]
Withania somnifera Reverses Transactive Response DNA Binding Protein 43 Proteinopathy in a Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration.
Dutta K1, Patel P2, Rahimian R1, Phaneuf D1, Julien JP3,4.
Abstract
Abnormal cytoplasmic mislocalization of transactive response DNA binding protein 43 (TARDBP or TDP-43) in degenerating neurons is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions (FTLD-U). Our previous work suggested that nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) may constitute a therapeutic target for TDP-43-mediated disease. Here, we investigated the effects of root extract of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), an herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory properties, in transgenic mice expressing a genomic fragment encoding human TDP-43A315T mutant. Ashwagandha extract was administered orally to hTDP-43A315T mice for a period of 8 weeks starting at 64 and 48 weeks of age for males and females, respectively. The treatment of hTDP-43A315T mice ameliorated their motor performance on rotarod test and cognitive function assessed by the passive avoidance test. Microscopy examination of tissue samples revealed that Ashwagandha treatment of hTDP-43A315T mice improved innervation at neuromuscular junctions, attenuated neuroinflammation, and reduced NF-κB activation. Remarkably, Ashwagandha treatment reversed the cytoplasmic mislocalization of hTDP-43 in spinal motor neurons and in brain cortical neurons of hTDP-43A315T mice and it reduced hTDP-43 aggregation. In vitro evidence is presented that the neuronal rescue of TDP-43 mislocalization may be due to the indirect effect of factors released from microglial cells exposed to Ashwagandha. These results suggest that Ashwagandha and its constituents might represent promising therapeutics for TDP-43 proteinopathies.
Neurotherapeutics. 2015 Jan;12(1):217-33.
Early-stage treatment with Withaferin A reduces levels of misfolded superoxide dismutase 1 and extends lifespan in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Priyanka Patel, Jean-Pierre Julien, and Jasna Kriz
Abstract
Approximately 20% of cases of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are caused by mutations in the gene encoding Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Recent studies have shown that Withaferin A (WA), an inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappa B activity, was efficient in reducing disease phenotype in a TAR DNA binding protein 43 transgenic mouse model of ALS. These findings led us to test WA in mice from 2 transgenic lines expressing different ALS-linked SOD1 mutations, SOD1(G93A) and SOD1(G37R). Intraperitoneal administration of WA at a dosage of 4 mg/kg of body weight was initiated from postnatal day 40 until end stage in SOD1(G93A) mice, and from 9 months until end stage in SOD1(G37R) mice. The beneficial effects of WA in the SOD1(G93A) mice model were accompanied by an alleviation of neuroinflammation, a decrease in levels of misfolded SOD1 species in the spinal cord, and a reduction in loss of motor neurons resulting in delayed disease progression and mortality. Interestingly, WA treatment triggered robust induction of heat shock protein 25 (a mouse ortholog of heat shock protein 27), which may explain the reduced level of misfolded SOD1 species in the spinal cord of SOD1(G93A) mice and the decrease of neuronal injury responses, as revealed by real-time imaging of biophotonic SOD1(G93A) mice expressing a luciferase transgene under the control of the growth-associated protein 43 promoter. These results suggest that WA may represent a potential lead compound for drug development aiming to treat ALS.
