Scientists have found a cure for Stephen Hawking's disease

Researchers at the Israeli Weizmann Institute have discovered a cure for a disease of the Central nervous system known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It was this disease that the famous English scientist Stephen Hawking had.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is still considered an incurable degenerative disease. It slowly progresses and affects different parts of the brain, including motor neurons, leading to gradual paralysis of the limbs and muscle atrophy. As a result, patients die from respiratory infections or respiratory muscle failure.  

In the course of the research, scientists at the Weizmann Institute found in rodents affected by one of the forms of ALS, the relationship between this disease and the microflora of their intestines. It turned out that in mice with a normal state of the gastrointestinal tract, the disease progresses much more slowly than in those whose microflora was almost destroyed due to antibiotics

After analyzing the bacterial composition of the stomach and intestines of healthy mice and mice with a predisposition to ALS, the scientists found that the bacterium akkermansia muciniphila secretes in large volumes a substance called nicotinamide. In the course of the research, they concluded that it slows down the development of BAS and improves the functioning of the Central nervous system.

After this discovery, scientists have studied the intestinal microflora of 37 patients with ALS and found all of them have low levels of nicotinamide in the body. Deciding to test the hypothesis, they injected the mice with ALS that matter — the progress of illness slowed down, and as rodents have improved.

It is too early to talk about the readiness of the drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is not clear how such treatment will affect the person and whether it will cause complications in the future. To answer these questions, scientists will continue their research.