Frontotemporal Dementia News and Research

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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

Researchers describe atom-by-atom changes in ALS-linked protein

For the first time, researchers have described atom-by-atom changes in a family of proteins linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a group of brain disorders known as frontotemporal dementia and degenerative diseases of muscle and bone.

19 Jan 2018

Researchers develop drug that supports cellular traffic jam theory in ALS/FTD

Neurodegeneration in ALS/FTD may be caused by TDP-43 aggregation in the cytoplasm, causing cellular traffic jams. The trial drug can sequester TDP-43.

9 Jan 2018

Sangamo and Pfizer partner for development of new zinc finger protein gene therapy to treat ALS

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. and Pfizer Inc. today announced a collaboration for the development of a potential gene therapy using zinc finger protein transcription factors (ZFP-TFs) to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) linked to mutations of the C9ORF72 gene.

8 Jan 2018

Study investigates how brain lesions can contribute to criminal behavior

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that lesions to brain areas in individuals exhibiting criminal behavior all fall within a particular brain network involved in moral decision-making.

18 Dec 2017

Research brings scientists one step closer to understanding development of ALS

University of Michigan-led research brings scientists one step closer to understanding the development of neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS.

8 Dec 2017

Combining EEG and MRI could expand ways of understanding ALS

Our brains function by electrical and chemical signaling. Recording brain wave patterns can be very helpful in conditions like epilepsy, but the potential of this inexpensive and easily applied technology has not been fully recognized.

28 Nov 2017

Scientists develop novel mouse model to capture pathology of sporadic ALS and FTD

Neurodegenerative diseases are incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive degeneration and death of nerve cells, which leads to problems with movement or mental functioning. Examples include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

13 Nov 2017