Etiological factors of many neuro-psychiatric diseases are yet unknown, their treatments are very difficult, especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and hebephrenic form of schizophrenia.
While serving in Wakayama Medical College, I studied many caces of ALS, which spread throughout the southern part of Kii peninsula. So I tried to elucidate the etiological factors of ALS. The water of Kozagawa river contains very little minerals: Ca and Mg. By adding Ca and Mg in the drinking water of patients, outbreak of disease certainly decreased.
In Guam, there are also many cases of ALS discovered, and their drinking water also contains very little Ca.
According to our clinical experiences, we advised them to add Ca in their drinking water. After they did that, ALS cases clearly decreased.
In Guam, Mn content in the soil is eighty times as much as the average in Japan. In the period of World War II, 150 Chamorros were working in Mn mine, and 70 workers fell ill with ALS and Dementia Parkinsonism.
Dr. Yase and Dr. Yoshimasu investigated trace metals in the ALS brains in Kii Peninsula and Guam by means of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). They discovered that large amounts of Ca, Mn and Al are precipitated in motor neurons. According to these observations, Dr. Yase proposed that ALS are by metal induced calcifying degeneration of motor neuron system.
Dr. Kumura studied the Zn content in brain tissue of schizophrenia and controls by polarography and confirmed that Zn level is significantly lower in the schizophrenic group than in other control cases.
According to these results, I tried to give oyster extract, which contains a large quantity of Zn, to several cases of hebephrenic patients. Most patients are getting better, namely affective flattening, poverty of speech and negativisum are gradually disappearing.
Dr. Nishigori gave oyster extract to ten cases of hebephrenic inpatients, tried quantitative analysis of Zn and Cu in serum and urine, and observed their clinical effect.
Recent studies confirmed that biochemical basis of paranoide form of schizophrenia seemed to be a variation of dopamine-β-hydroxylase and excess of Cu (Cu-hypermetallose), while hebephrenic form are Zn-deficiency (Zn-hypometallose), which is activator of carbonic anhydrase by cerebral glycolysis. In this meaning schizophrenias (paranoid and hebephrebic) are Cu- and Zn- dysmetallose.
