Motor Neurons News and Research

RSS

Slowdowns in transport of important molecules may contribute to development of ALS

Slowdowns in the transport and delivery of nutrients, proteins and signaling molecules within nerve cells may contribute to the development of the neurodegenerative disorder ALS, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

13 Jun 2013

Researchers mobilize brain's native stem cells to replenish neuron lost in Huntington's disease

Researchers have been able to mobilize the brain's native stem cells to replenish a type of neuron lost in Huntington's disease.

7 Jun 2013

Research: RG3039 drug can extend survival, improve function in spinal muscular atrophy mouse models

In a new publication that appears in Human Molecular Genetics, the laboratory of Christine DiDonato, PhD reports on their pharmacological characterization of the drug RG3039, demonstrating that it can extend survival and improve function in two spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) mouse models.

5 Jun 2013

Canadian researcher develops first animal model to study function of C9ORF72 in ALS

Canadian researcher Edor Kabashi of the Université de Montréal has developed the first animal model to study the function of a gene responsible for the highest percentage of ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Results to date shed light on the cause of the devastating disease.

4 Jun 2013

Researchers now one step closer to unlocking the nature of ALS

As the result of a major breakthrough by researchers at Northwestern University's School of Medicine, researchers studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, are now one step closer to unlocking the nature of ALS.

4 Jun 2013

Transplantation of human stem cells improves muscle function in rats used to model ALS

Transplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS, a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure.

29 May 2013

Researchers identify mutations in new genes that might be associated with ALS disease

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified mutations in several new genes that might be associated with the development of spontaneously occurring cases of the neurodegenerative disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

27 May 2013

Discovery could aid research into motor neuron disease

Scientists have found that a key hormone allows young zebrafish to develop and replace their motor neurons - a kind of nerve cell found in the spinal cord.

24 May 2013

Researchers identify how a defective protein plays central role in Giant Axonal Neuropathy

A team of international researchers led by Northwestern Medicine scientists has identified how a defective protein plays a central role in a rare, lethal childhood disease known as Giant Axonal Neuropathy, or GAN.

29 Apr 2013

Study: Melatonin delays symptom onset, reduces mortality in mouse model of ALS

Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

25 Apr 2013

Researchers discover that fruit fly mutation holds clues for treating motor neuron diseases

A team of researchers, led by Marc Freeman, PhD, an early career scientist with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and associate professor of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have discovered a gene in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster that, when mutant, blocks the self-destruction of damaged axons, which could hold clues to treating motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

9 Apr 2013

Clinical trial signals new era in treatment of neurodegererative disorders

The initial clinical trial of a novel approach to treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - blocking production of a mutant protein that causes an inherited form of the progressive neurodegererative disease - may be a first step towards a new era in the treatment of such disorders.

4 Apr 2013

Research findings shed light on how neurons translate sensory input into actions

New research by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School shows at the single cell level how an external stimulus sets off a molecular chain reaction in the transparent roundworm C. elegans, a process in which a single neurotransmitter coordinates and times two separate actions.

3 Apr 2013

RUB biologists report that vitamin P ensures survival of motor neurons in culture

Biologists from the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum have explored how to protect neurons that control movements from dying off.

3 Apr 2013

Johns Hopkins scientists identify role of central nervous system cell in development of ALS

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal degenerative disease.

1 Apr 2013

Gladstone investigator to receive Essey Award for fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, next month will receive the Essey Award for his "Commitment to a Cure" from The ALS Association Golden West Chapter.

26 Mar 2013

MBL study of dragonfly prey detection wins 2012 Cozzarelli Prize for scientific excellence and originality

Paloma T. Gonzalez-Bellido, a postdoctoral scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory and her colleagues have been awarded a 2012 Cozzarelli Prize by the editorial board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

16 Mar 2013

VCP gene mutations cause neurological conditions including IBMPFD and ALS

New research, published in Neuron, gives insight into how single mutations in the VCP gene cause a range of neurological conditions including a form of dementia called Inclusion Body Myopathy, Paget's Disease of the Bone and Frontotemporal Dementia (IBMPFD), and the motor neuron disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

14 Mar 2013

Researchers identify new mechanism in onset of motor neuron diseases

The British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is likely to be the world's most famous person living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive disease affecting motor neurons, nerve cells that control muscle function, and nearly always leads to death.

11 Mar 2013

Researchers discover new candidate disease proteins for neurodegenerative disorders

A multi-institution group of researchers has found new candidate disease proteins for neurodegenerative disorders.

4 Mar 2013