A diet high in polyunsaturated fat and vitamin E is associated with a decreased likelihood of developing Lou Gehrig disease, or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), according to a report from the Netherlands.

The findings are based on a comparison of dietary intake for 132 patients with ALS (before the disease set in) and 220 healthy “controls.” The subjects’ diets were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire.

High levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids or vitamin E seemed to decrease the risk of ALS, while a high intake of both nutrients cut the risk even further, suggesting a synergistic effect, Dr. Jan H. Veldink, from the University Medical Center Utrecht, and colleagues note in the online issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

Specifically, a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E decreased the risk of developing ALS by 50 percent to 60 percent.

By contrast, the team found no apparent anti-ALS effect for lycopene, flavonols, vitamin C, vitamin B2, glutamate, calcium, or plant-derived estrogens.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids may work indirectly, through anti-inflammatory effects, to lower the risk of ALS, the researchers note. However, it is also possible that they offer direct protection of neurons, they add.

Vitamin E may reduce the risk of ALS by inhibiting oxidation of lipids, although two previous studies have failed to show a neuroprotective effect for this nutrient, the investigators point out.

SOURCE: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, May 2006.