TDP-43 protein tagged posts

Team develops Fluid Biomarker for Early Detection of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia

Johns Hopkins Medicine-led team develops fluid biomarker for early detection of ALS and FTD
A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led team has developed a fluid biomarker that may one day detect two degenerative diseases, ALS and FTD, before symptoms appear. The biomarker locates a protein associated with the loss of function for the TDP-43 protein (seen as a molecular model in this image), an abnormality linked to people who develop ALS or FTD. Credit: Public domain image via Protopedia.org

Two progressively degenerative diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD, recently in the news with the diagnoses of actor Bruce Willis and talk show host Wendy Williams), are linked by more than the fact that they both damage nerve cells critical to normal functioning—the former affecting nerves in the brain and spinal cord ...

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ALS Neuron Damage Reversed with New Compound

Scientists identify first compound to repair degenerating brain cells in paralyzing disease. Northwestern University scientists have identified the first compound that eliminates the ongoing degeneration of upper motor neurons that become diseased and are a key contributor to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a swift and fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims.

In addition to ALS, upper motor neuron degeneration also results in other motor neuron diseases, such as hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS).

In ALS, movement-initiating nerve cells in the brain (upper motor neurons) and muscle-controlling nerve cells in the spinal cord (lower motor neurons) die. The disease results in rapidly progressing paralysis and death.

So...

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