‘RNA Sponge’ Mechanism May Cause ALS/FTD Neurodegeneration

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have demonstrated that this ALS/FTD mutation may be harmful because it creates an “RNA sponge,” soaking up an important regulatory protein that binds RNA.

Categories: ALS News, Research News  |  Tags: ALS, ALS community, ALS medical care, ALS research, ALS research funding, ALS treatments, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bob Stehlin, C9ORF72 gene, C9orf72 mutations, Emory University School of Medicine, frontotemporal dementia FTD, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Lou Gehrig's disease, Mickael Poidevin, National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS051630 and R21NS067461), PALS, Peng Jin, RASCALS Foundation, RNA ALS, Robert A. Stehlin Campaign for ALS, St.Louis RASCALS ALS Lou Gehrig's Disease amotrophic lateral sclerosis, Thomas Wingo, Zihui Xu  |  No comments

ALS-FTD Research Briefs: P62 Gene’s Role and Screening Tool for ALS-FTD

Research news items on the role of the p62 gene in ALS-FTD and the ALS-FTD-Q, a new screening tool for assessing behavioral disturbances in ALS
By Amy Madsen, originally posted at MDA/ALS NewsMagazine, September 26, 2012
Article Highlights:

The finding that mutations in the p62 gene can cause frontotemporal lobar degeneration, added to an earlier finding that such [...]

Categories: Research News  |  Tags: ALS, ALS community, ALS research, ALS treatments, ALS-FTD, ALS-FTD-Q, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autophagy., Bob Stehlin, charged multivesicular body protein 2B, CHMP2B), chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9ORF72), Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, common pathway, dysarthria, frontotemporal dementia FTD, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), fused in sarcoma (FUS), Lewis P. Rowland, Lou Gehrig's disease, Methodist Neurological Institute, Northwestern University Chicago, optineurin (OPTN), P62 gene, P62 gene in ALS and FTLD, PALS, progranulin (PGRN, pseudobulbar affect, RASCALS Foundation, Rob J. DeHaan, Robert A. Stehlin Campaign for ALS, sequestosome 1, SQSTM1 gene, St.Louis RASCALS ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease amotrophic lateral sclerosis, Stanley H. Appel, tar DNA binding protein 43 (TDP43), Teepu Siddique, ubiquilin 2 (UBQLN2), University of Amsterdam, valosin-containing protein (VCP)  |  No comments

Rethinking ALS

The results suggest that certain networks in the brain might kick into overdrive to help maintain cognitive function in people with ALS over the course of the disease.

Categories: Research News  |  Tags: ALS, ALS community, ALS medical care, ALS motor cortex, ALS research, ALS TDI, ALS treatments, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Bob Stehlin, C9ORF72 Comes Into Focus., frontotemporal dementia FTD, Lou Gehrig's disease, Massimo Filippi MD, Michelle Pflumm, MRI Make That a Double., Neurobiology of Aging, Neuroinflammation, RASCALS Foundation, Robert A. Stehlin Campaign for ALS, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, St.Louis RASCALS ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease amotrophic lateral sclerosis  |  No comments

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clues uncovered by gene study

Researchers are hopeful after discovering a genetic mutation they think is responsible for the debilitating neurological disorder also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). And they hope the findings might lead to a cure for another dreaded brain disease – dementia.

Categories: Research News  |  Tags: ALS, ALS community, ALS research, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Dr. Adam Boxer, Dr. Brian Traynor, Dr. Rosa Rademakers, frontotemporal dementia FTD, Lou Gehrig's disease, Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health, RASCALS Foundation, Robert A. Stehlin Campaign for ALS, St.Louis RASCALS ALS Lou Gehrig's Disease amotrophic lateral sclerosis, University of California at San Francisco  |  No comments

Scientists Discover Key Gene Mutation Behind Lou Gehrig’s Disease

“Although clinically they have always been described as two separate diseases, they are overlapping. We now believe that ALS and FTD are actually different clinical manifestations of the same disease.”

Categories: Research News  |  Tags: ALS, ALS Association, ALS community, ALS research, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, C9ORF72, chromosome 9, Dr. Bryan Traynor, frontotemporal dementia, frontotemporal dementia FTD, FTD, Lou Gehrig's disease, Lucie Bruijn, Mayo Clinic, Neuromuscular Diseases Research Group, RASCALS Foundation, Robert A. Stehlin Campaign for ALS, U.S. National Institutes of Health  |  No comments