Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia: distinct and overlapping changes in eating behaviour and metabolism

Rebekah M Ahmed; Muireann Irish; Olivier Piguet; Glenda M Halliday; Lars M Ittner; Sadaf Farooqi; John R Hodges; Matthew C Kiernan

doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00380-4

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia: distinct and overlapping changes in eating behaviour and metabolism

Lancet Neurol. 2016 Mar;15(3):332-42. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00380-4. Epub 2016 Jan 26.

Authors

Rebekah M Ahmed¹, Muireann Irish², Olivier Piguet³, Glenda M Halliday⁴, Lars M Ittner⁵, Sadaf Farooqi⁶, John R Hodges³, Matthew C Kiernan⁷

Affiliations

¹ Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Sydney Medical School, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: rebekah.ahmed@sydney.edu.au.
² Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Dementia Research Unit, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK.
⁷ Sydney Medical School, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 26822748
DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00380-4

Abstract

Metabolic changes incorporating fluctuations in weight, insulin resistance, and cholesterol concentrations have been identified in several neurodegenerative disorders. Whether these changes result from the neurodegenerative process affecting brain regions necessary for metabolic regulation or whether they drive the degenerative process is unknown. Emerging evidence from epidemiological, clinical, pathological, and experimental studies emphasises a range of changes in eating behaviours and metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In ALS, metabolic changes have been linked to disease progression and prognosis. Furthermore, changes in eating behaviour that affect metabolism have been incorporated into the diagnostic criteria for FTD, which has some clinical and pathological overlap with ALS. Whether the distinct and shared metabolic and eating changes represent a component of the proposed spectrum of the two diseases is an intriguing possibility. Moreover, future research should aim to unravel the complex connections between eating, metabolism, and neurodegeneration in ALS and FTD, and aim to understand the potential for targeting modifiable risk factors in disease development and progression.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / metabolism*
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / physiopathology
Animals
Feeding Behavior / physiology*
Frontotemporal Dementia / metabolism*
Frontotemporal Dementia / physiopathology
Humans