Relationship Between N-trimethylamine Oxide, a Metabolite of Intestinal Flora, and Pathogenesis and Progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with rapid progression, poor prognosis and unknown etiology. At present, there is no effective treatment. In recent years, with the deepening of the research on the interaction between intestinal flora and human health, many studies have found that intestinal flora is closely related to neurodegenerative diseases. In the field of neuroscience, there are more and more researches on the relationship between TMAO and its precursors (L-carnitine, etc.) and neurodegenerative diseases. Although there is no direct study on the relationship between TMAO and ALS, the relevant experiments suggest that intestinal flora, TMAO and its precursors (L-carnitine, etc.) may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of ALS. The purpose of this study is to verify the important role of TMAO, a metabolite of intestinal flora, in ALS through human studies and animal model studies, and to obtain direct evidence that TMAO participates in the disease process of ALS.