Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis News and Research

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Study offers new insight into the role of tau proteins in ALS pathogenesis

A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital has shown that people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, who carry a mutation in the C9orf72 gene exhibit elevated levels of tau and phosphorylated tau protein in the motor cortex region of the brain.

15 Nov 2021

Inflammatory chemicals involved in fat metabolism play key role in ALS, study shows

A new study using genetically engineered mice and human cell and tissue samples has added to evidence that higher levels of inflammatory chemicals involved in fat metabolism occur in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the neuromuscular disorder, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

15 Nov 2021

Identifying an important protein for motor coordination

News-Medical speaks to Professor Jorge Ruas about how he has identified an important protein involved in motor coordination.

10 Nov 2021

Study reveals the role of SPOP protein in an inherited form of ALS

The damaging effects of toxic proteins created in one inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are mediated by a protein called SPOP, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences.

8 Nov 2021

Research may provide clues to how viral infections contribute to neurodegeneration

Some viral diseases could possibly contribute to neurodegeneration. DZNE researchers report this in the scientific journal "Nature Communications".

19 Oct 2021

Researchers discover molecules in the blood that can indicate impending dementia

Researchers at the DZNE and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have identified molecules in the blood that can indicate impending dementia. Their findings, which are presented in the scientific journal "EMBO Molecular Medicine", are based on human studies and laboratory experiments. Various university hospitals across Germany were also involved in the investigations.

11 Oct 2021

Methylation of TDP-43 DNA linked to age-dependent motor cortex involvement in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an intractable neurological disease. Aging is a risk factor for the accumulation of TDP-43 (transduction responsive region DNA-binding protein of 43kDa) in the motor cortex. TDP-43 is a protein that tends to accumulate in increasing amounts, and the amount is strictly controlled by the splicing of TDP-43. Through cell experiments and analysis of human brain tissue, researchers at Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, led by Akihiro Sugai, M.D., Ph.D., have found that methylation of TDP-43 DNA is involved in the background of motor cortex involvement with aging in ALS

29 Sep 2021

Small molecule drug can attenuate the triggers of neuroinflammation, preclinical study shows

Neuroinflammation can worsen outcomes in stroke, traumatic brain injury, or spinal cord injury, as well as accelerate neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. This suggests that limiting neuroinflammation may represent a promising new approach to treat neurological diseases and neuropathic pain that are driven by neuroinflammation.

24 Sep 2021

Novel cell reprogramming offers a promising therapeutic strategy to slow down glioblastomas

Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults. Among them, high-grade glioblastomas (GBMs) are particularly known to be notoriously aggressive and invasive, which makes it challenging to treat them. The disease rapidly progresses to an advanced stage in a short span of time, and the survival of such patients is often dismal.

16 Sep 2021

Blood lipid biomarkers associated with lower risk of ALS

Some blood lipid biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease risk are also associated with a lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest the findings of a large epidemiology study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

14 Sep 2021

Study finds possible direct connection between neurodegenerative diseases and the herpesvirus

A new study by researchers at University of Illinois Chicago suggests that when the protein optineurin, or OPTN, is present in cells it restricts the spread of HSV-1, the herpes simplex virus type 1.

13 Sep 2021

Research uncovers test to identify iMCD patients with superior response to FDA-approved treatment

New research has uncovered a precision medicine test using blood proteins to identify a novel patient subgroup of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD), a rare blood disorder, who are more likely to respond to siltuximab, the only FDA approved treatment for the disease.

2 Sep 2021

Researchers decipher genetic mechanisms governing the speed of protein synthesis

In all eukaryotic organisms, genetic material is stored in the cell nucleus in the form of DNA. In order to be used, this DNA is first transcribed into messenger RNA in the cell cytoplasm, then translated into protein with the help of ribosomes, small machines capable of decoding messenger RNA to synthesise the appropriate proteins.

31 Aug 2021

Research analyzes the role of RNA tags in Alzheimer’s disease

Understanding the role of tau protein in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has led to new ways to diagnose it as well as the creation of medicines now in clinical trials to treat it.

28 Aug 2021

CIRM approves a trio of awards for new stem cell-based projects

The governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has approved a trio of awards, totaling approximately $4 million, to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers to advance studies of new stem cell-based treatments for multiple types of cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

25 Aug 2021

Atomic-level imaging of infectious prions reveals new therapeutic targets for untreatable diseases

The highest-ever resolution imaging of an infectious prion provides the first atomic-level data of how these abnormal proteins are assembled to cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases in people and animals - and how they can be potentially targeted by new therapies.

24 Aug 2021

Scientists identify the main components driving amyloid beta-associated synapse degeneration

Healthy adult brains are endowed with a vast number of synapses, structures that relay signals across nerve cells to enable communications, information processing and storage throughout the nervous system.

18 Aug 2021

Researchers develop new method to quantify protein droplets involved in neurodegenerative diseases

Some proteins in cells can separate into small droplets like oil droplets in water, but faults in this process may underlie neurodegenerative diseases in the brains of older people. Now, Rutgers researchers have developed a new method to quantify protein droplets involved in these diseases.

13 Aug 2021

Temple researchers receive $1.25M NIH grant to advance understanding of neurodegenerative diseases

Like wear and tear that causes electrical systems to short circuit, neurons in the human nervous system are susceptible to degenerative processes that disrupt the flow of information.

12 Aug 2021

Innovative therapeutic platform for blood-to-brain delivery of antisense oligonucleotide therapy

Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy has the potential to ameliorate many neurodegenerative diseases at the genetic level to suppress the production of harmful proteins or non-coding RNAs.