Tag: ALS

Blue-collar workers, particularly carpenters and construction workers, have a significantly increased risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared with white-collar workers, new research shows. Investigators found manual laborers had a twofold increased risk for the fatal neurodegenerative disease, possibly because of the intense or sustained physical effort these jobs require. “Our study provides evidence that

“Symptoms, then, are in reality nothing but a cry from suffering organs” – Jean-Martin Charcot Nearly 130 years after his death, Jean-Martin Charcot’s name still resonates with modern neurologists. The famed 19th century French physician made myriad enduring contributions to the field. His eponymous foot condition might be his best known. He also delved into

A study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has made a surprising connection between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two disorders of the nervous system, and the genetic mutation normally understood to cause Huntington’s disease. This large, international project, which included a collaboration between the National Institute of Neurological

For long-distance transportation within the cell, RNA molecules rely on hitchhiking. A microscopic RNA molecule might need to travel as far as a meter to get from the nucleus of a nerve cell to its tip, where it’s needed to make a protein. But exactly how RNA gets around has been “a long-standing question in

Increasing the levels of the anti-aging protein hormone Klotho improves the neurological deficits and prolongs life span in an experimental model with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In addition, brain immune cells called microglia play an important role in protecting the brain against inflammation and, likely, motor neuron loss in this model. ALS or Lou Gehrig’s

Toxic protein assemblies, or “amyloids,” long considered to be key drivers in many neuromuscular diseases, also play a beneficial role in the development of healthy muscle tissue, University of Colorado Boulder researchers have found. “Ours is the first study to show that amyloid-like structures not only exist in healthy skeletal muscle during regeneration, but are

Brown University researchers have uncovered new clues about the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a surprisingly common disease that causes the death of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles such as those involved in walking, talking, chewing or breathing. A team led by Anne Hart, a professor of neuroscience at Brown, discovered that two

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that some neurons affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) display hypo-excitability, using a new method to measure electrical activity in cells, according to a study published in Stem Cell Reports. “The excitability changes observed in these patient neurons most likely represent the early steps in the disease process,” said Evangelos

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a new disease model for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and MS that can be used to develop new immunotherapies. The model is described in a publication in the scientific journal Nature Immunology. All of the body’s organs contain macrophages, which, as part of the immune system,