TDP 43 News and Research

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Blood and brain biomarkers transform how doctors confirm Alzheimer’s disease

A new Lancet review proposes a three-wave diagnostic pathway that combines clinical expertise with blood, CSF, and PET biomarkers. This approach aims to deliver earlier, more accurate, and more equitable Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis worldwide.

24 Sep 2025

Understanding the role of paraventricular thalamic nucleus in bipolar disorder pathophysiology

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic mental health condition characterized by recurrent episodes of depression and mania.

4 Sep 2025

New research identifies critical gene for ALS treatment

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - which you may know as the disease that affected Stephen Hawking - is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive muscle weakness. A research team at Tohoku University and Keio University has uncovered a unifying mechanism in ALS revolving around the expression of UNC13A (a gene crucial for neuronal communication) that represents a common target for developing effective treatment strategies that could improve the lives of patients with ALS.

26 Jul 2025

APOE ε4 variant reveals hidden risk factors beyond Alzheimer’s

Researchers discovered that people carrying the APOE ε4 gene variant share a unique immune-related protein signature across their blood, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid—regardless of neurodegenerative disease diagnosis. This signature reveals a fundamental, disease-independent vulnerability linked to APOE ε4, reframing our understanding of genetic risk in conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, ALS, and FTD.

21 Jul 2025

UC Irvine researchers uncover altered RNA processing in ALS

UC Irvine researchers conducted a study to better understand the molecular basis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder in which patients lose the ability to move, becoming weak and wheelchair bound before dying because they can no longer breathe.

3 Jun 2025

Molecular stress makes old neurons vulnerable to neurodegenerative diseases

As the global population ages, the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) continues to rise. But the molecular mechanisms behind the deterioration of brain cells have remained elusive.

2 Jun 2025

Study uncovers common trigger across gene mutations that cause ALS

Using the gene scissors CRISPR and stem cells, researchers at Stockholm University and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at King's College London have managed to identify a common denominator for different gene mutations that all cause the neurological disease ALS.

19 May 2025

TDP-43 dysfunction in brain blood vessels may drive Alzheimer's and ALS progression

Reduced levels of a critical protein are linked to devastating brain diseases like Alzheimer's, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Surprisingly, the protein shortage primarily affects the brain's blood vessels.

30 Apr 2025

New approach may prevent neurotoxic protein aggregates in ALS

Researchers at Goethe University, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Kiel University discover possible method for preventing protein aggregates – Cluster4Future PROXIDRUGS research project.

23 Apr 2025

Scientists develop lab model to study TDP-43 accumulation in neurodegeneration

Accumulation of a protein called TDP-43 is a key feature of ALS and frontotemporal dementia. In a newly published study, researchers report 'seeding' this accumulation through fragments of the culprit protein created in the lab.

28 Mar 2025

New scientific clue could unlock key cellular pathway leading to neurodegenerative diseases

In Nature Neuroscience, UConn School of Medicine researchers have revealed a new scientific clue that could unlock the key cellular pathway leading to devastating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, and the progressive damage to the brain's frontal and temporal lobes in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and the associated disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

14 Mar 2025

New algorithm enhances prediction of disordered protein structures

The intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) do not attain a stable secondary or tertiary structure and rapidly change their conformation, making structure prediction particularly challenging.

7 Mar 2025

New diagnostic guidelines aim to distinguish common memory disorder from Alzheimer’s

LATE-NC diagnostic criteria improve differentiation from Alzheimer's, addressing challenges in memory-loss syndromes and guiding therapeutic interventions.

28 Jan 2025

Review highlights the role of mitochondrial Ca2+ imbalance in neurodegenerative diseases

Mitochondria are crucial organelles for cellular homeostasis, regulating processes such as ATP production, reactive oxygen species (ROS) management and Ca2+ signaling.

24 Jan 2025

Diagnostic guidelines released for limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy

New guidelines will help doctors identify patients with a common memory-loss syndrome that is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease in older adults.

22 Jan 2025

Researchers uncover molecular mechanisms driving RNA processing defects in Huntington's disease

A University of California, Irvine-led research team has discovered intricate molecular mechanisms driving the RNA processing defects that lead to Huntington's disease and link HD with other neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal lobar dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jan 2025

Uncovering the pathway behind ALS neurodegeneration

Approximately 5,000 people in the U.S. develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) each year. On average, they survive for only two to five years after being diagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

8 Nov 2024

Transposable elements found to be dysregulated in Alzheimer's brains, revealing potential targets for therapy

Study reveals widespread dysregulation of transposable elements (TEs) in aging human brains with Alzheimer's disease, using advanced techniques like CRISPR interference to identify TE-related risk genes.

9 Oct 2024

International experts to gather for ALS symposium in Chicago

The 2024 Les Turner Symposium on ALS will be held on Monday, Nov. 4 in Chicago. Hosted by the Les Turner ALS Foundation and the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine, this event will assemble internationally-renowned ALS researchers, clinicians, advocates, and people living with ALS to discuss the latest research and perspectives on the disease.

3 Oct 2024

Blood test identifies specific pathologies in frontotemporal dementia, ALS, and PSP

In a study with 991 adults, scientists at DZNE show that the most common forms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) as well as the neurological diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) can be recognized by blood testing.

18 Jun 2024