Motor Neurons News and Research

RSS

Study identifies link between gut bacteria and deterioration of the brain in ALS, dementia

A significant discovery by Case Western Reserve University researchers could change how doctors treat two of the most devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

9 Feb 2026

Lab-grown corticospinal neurons offer new models for ALS and spinal injuries

Researchers have developed a way to grow a highly specialized subset of brain nerve cells that are involved in motor neuron disease and damaged in spinal injuries.

29 Jan 2026

Zebrafish can play a decisive role in clinical interpretation of spinal muscular atrophy

The tiny zebrafish is helping researchers rapidly determine whether a newborn's genetic mutation is likely to cause spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), one of the leading causes of infant mortality worldwide.

28 Jan 2026

Long-term air pollution exposure raises motor neuron disease risk

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with a higher risk of developing motor neuron disease and poorer prognosis after diagnosis in a large nationwide Swedish study. Higher particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide exposure were also linked to faster functional decline and increased likelihood of invasive ventilation.

21 Jan 2026

ALS breakthrough: Restoring protein production in motor neuron axons

Researchers at VIB and KU Leuven have identified a molecular process that allows motor neurons to maintain protein production, a process that fails in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

12 Jan 2026

Experimental drug targets early toxic amyloid to slow Alzheimer’s disease

An experimental drug developed at Northwestern University has demonstrated further promise as an early intervention for Alzheimer's disease.

18 Dec 2025

New rapid blood test enables early and accurate diagnosis of ALS

ALS is a debilitating paralytic disease characterized by the death of upper and lower motor neurons. Fortunately, ALS is relatively rare, with an incidence rate of 1.6 per 100,000 adults, resulting in about 30,000 cases in the United States at any one time.

16 Dec 2025

Machine learning models can help diagnose ALS earlier from a blood sample

Using machine learning models, researchers at Michigan Medicine have identified a potential way to diagnose amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, earlier from a blood sample, a study suggests.

10 Dec 2025

New method enhances precision in bionic limb movement interpretation

Despite enormous progress in the past two decades, the intentional control of bionic prostheses remains a challenge and the subject of intensive research.

31 Oct 2025

How nerve cells in the gut adapt to microbial and immune challenges

Ramnik Xavier, MD, PhD, of the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the senior author of a paper published in Science, "Regional encoding of enteric nervous system responses to microbiota and type 2 inflammation."

31 Oct 2025

Study reveals how TDP-43 causes neuronal overactivity in ALS and FTD

A new Northwestern University study using patient nervous tissue and lab-grown human neurons has uncovered how a key disease protein, TDP-43, drives overactive nerve cells in the neurodegenerative diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

31 Oct 2025

Unraveling the mystery of motor neuron degeneration in ALS

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is among the most challenging neurological disorders: relentlessly progressive, universally fatal, and without a cure even after more than a century and a half of research.

27 Oct 2025

Blood test shows promise for faster ALS diagnosis

New research by UCLA Health has found a simple blood test could provide faster and more accurate diagnosis of ALS by measuring cell-free DNA.

15 Oct 2025

Study uncovers cerebellar involvement and social impairment

Spinal muscular atrophy is a rare genetic disease of the nerve cells in the spinal cord that can appear as early as infancy. The disease leads to a progressive loss of muscle strength. Those affected often suffer from muscle weakness early on, as well as difficulties with movement, breathing, and swallowing.

3 Oct 2025

Study reveals how a key spinal circuit shapes the choreography of sex

For decades, it was thought that while the brain orchestrated male sexual behaviour – arousal, courtship, and copulation – the spinal cord merely executed the final act: ejaculation.

23 Sep 2025

Clinical trial reveals encouraging results for apitegromab in spinal muscular atrophy

A new clinical trial has revealed encouraging results for a muscle-targeting therapy aimed at improving motor function in children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy, according to a study published in The Lancet Neurology.

18 Sep 2025

Muscle hormone FGF21 linked to longer survival in ALS

A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 8 of Aging-US on August 9, 2025, titled "The myokine FGF21 associates with enhanced survival in ALS and mitigates stress-induced cytotoxicity."

18 Sep 2025

Resistance training may help preserve aging nerves

Simple resistance training may help counteract age-related nerve deterioration that puts seniors at risk of injuries from falls and other accidents, according to cross-institutional research led by Syracuse University postdoctoral researcher JoCarol Shields and Department of Exercise Science Professor Jason DeFreitas.

17 Sep 2025

Researchers gain better understanding of how nerve cells can be protected against ALS

By analyzing millions of messenger RNA molecules (mRNA) during the course of ALS, researchers at Stockholm University, in collaboration with scientists at the Paris Brain Institute and Örebro University, have identified why certain nerve cells are resistant to the disease and what happens in the sensitive nerve cells when they are affected.

19 Aug 2025

Breakthrough study reveals potential treatment path for ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is an incurable neurological disorder affecting motor neurons-nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing.

5 Aug 2025