Frontotemporal Dementia News and Research

RSS

Study uncovers new genetic clues to frontotemporal dementia

Unlike the more common Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia tends to afflict young people. It accounts for an estimated 20 percent of all cases of early-onset dementia.

13 Dec 2018

Researchers uncover genes that lead to excessive tau in dementia

Researchers have identified two major groups of genes involved in the mutations that lead to excess production of tau, a protein involved in dementia.

3 Dec 2018

New breakthrough may speed up research and drug trials to tackle motor neurone disease

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have successfully created zebrafish that carry the complex genetic change known to cause the most common genetic form of motor neurone disease (MND).

27 Nov 2018

Researchers discover new information on pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have discovered a mechanism by which harmful tau protein aggregates are transmitted between neurons. Alongside amyloid plaques, tau aggregates in the brain are a significant factor in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Nov 2018

Genetic defect linked to ALS causes sugar-starved cells to overproduce lipids

A genetic defect tied to a variety of neurodegenerative diseases and mental illnesses changes how cells starved of sugar metabolize fatty compounds known as lipids, a new study led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows.

31 Oct 2018

Scientists determine normal function of gene associated with ALS and FTD

The normal function of a gene associated with the neurodegenerative diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia has been determined for the first time by University of Bath scientists.

24 Oct 2018

Alector announces initiation of Phase 1 trial of AL001 for treating frontotemporal dementia

Alector, a privately held biotechnology company pioneering immuno-neurology, a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegeneration, today announced the initiation of its Phase 1 trial called INFRONT, which is evaluating AL001, the company's product candidate for the treatment of a genetically-defined sub-population of patients with frontotemporal dementia.

19 Sep 2018

Novel finding that links ALS/ataxia to cellular stress opens door to new treatment approaches

Few treatments exist for neurodegenerative diseases that progressively rob a person's ability to move and think, yet the results of a new study could potentially open additional approaches for exploration.

7 Sep 2018

Study provides new clues to connection between aging and neurodegeneration

For decades researchers have worked to shed light on the causes of neurodegenerative disorders, a group of devastating conditions, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, that involve the progressive loss of neurons and nervous system function. In recent years, numerous factors, from genetic mutations to viral infections, have been found to contribute to the development of these diseases.

23 Aug 2018

A late-life surprise: Taking care of frail, aging parents

"This won't go on for very long," Sharon Hall said to herself when she invited her elderly mother, who'd suffered several small strokes, to live with her.

23 Aug 2018

Study shows that rogue proteins may underlie some ALS and frontotemporal dementia cases

ALS -- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, slowly robbing its victims of their ability to walk, talk, breathe and swallow.

20 Aug 2018

Study finds new molecular mechanism for neurodegeneration in frontotemporal dementia

A new study in Biological Psychiatry reports that dementia-related and psychiatric-related proteins cluster together to form aggregates in the brain, leading to abnormal cell function and behavior.

8 May 2018

Study reveals surprising insights into RNA-binding proteins

A host of special molecules called nuclear RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), when misplaced outside the nucleus, form the harmful clumps seen in several brain disorders, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

20 Apr 2018

ALS and frontotemporal dementia share genetic connections

Nearly half of all patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder, develop cognitive problems that affect memory and thinking.

9 Apr 2018

NIH-funded researchers use CRISPR to rapidly find new genetic suspects behind ALS, FTD

NIH-funded researchers at Stanford University used the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to rapidly identify genes in the human genome that might modify the severity of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia caused by mutations in a gene called C9orf72.

13 Mar 2018

Study reveals key function of ALS-linked protein

The protein FUS, whose mutation or disruption causes many cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), works as a central component of one of the most important regulatory systems in cells, according to a new study in Molecular Cell from scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

8 Mar 2018

TSRI research offers explanation for why neurons die off in Parkinson's disease

An estimated 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease--an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that leads to an increasing loss of motor control.

6 Mar 2018

UAB scientists explore gene therapy for frontotemporal dementia

Gene therapy has shown promise for treating a neurodegenerative disease known as frontotemporal dementia and a related condition called neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, according to new findings presented in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

1 Mar 2018

AbbVie and Voyager Therapeutics collaborate to develop new treatments for tauopathies

AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, and Voyager Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage gene therapy company, today announced that they have entered into an exclusive strategic collaboration and option agreement to develop and commercialize vectorized antibodies directed against tau for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

20 Feb 2018

USC scientists uncover cellular mechanism responsible for ALS and frontotemporal dementia

Scientists have for the first time discovered a mechanism that limits the number of "cellular janitors" in the nervous system, leading to increased risk for two neurodegenerative diseases: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, according to a Keck School of Medicine of USC study published today in Nature Medicine.

7 Feb 2018