For the first time, scientists at UNC have discovered the structure of toxic clumps of a protein that have been associated with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
“There are quite a few neurodegenerative diseases that we know, such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, they all feature the same aspect, which is a clump of proteins,” said study co-author Nikolay Dokholyan. “They tend to clump or aggregate inside neurons inside our brain.”
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that causes early death as a result of loss of motor neurons, which are crucial to moving, speaking, swallowing and breathing.
Before this research was done, scientists did not know how these clumps were structured or what kind of effect they had on cells.
Research done by lead author Elizabeth Proctor, Dokholyan and a number of others, shows these clumps can be toxic to the neurons in the brain.
“Not only did we find (clumps) actually killed (neurons), we were able to figure out what those little clumps looked like,” Proctor said. “Maybe in the future we can try to target this with treatments or further experiments to try to figure out what goes on in the disease.”
Dokholyan said there are currently no drugs for any neurodegenerative diseases, but this breakthrough could be a step in that direction.
“The identification of toxic species is to me is a major breakthrough for us to search for new therapeutic ideas,” Dokholyan.
Proctor said this kind of research could have an effect on other kinds of diseases as well.
“There’s a hypothesis that similar processes underlie all of these diseases,” she said. “So if we were to make progress in trying to discover what is the molecular basis for ALS that would be not only applicable in ALS but also in diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.”
Would like more info about this topic because, my father died from ALS.
My husband has ALS. We’d like more info and please find a cure for us and all als patients
I would like updates on this, I was diagnosed with ALS in May 2105
I would like any and all updates on this article.. I was diagnosed with ALS on November 2015.
In December my health took a turn for the worse I became very weak fast and could not even eat When I say fast I mean going from eating a full plate of food to three days later not being able to drink a a sip of water I went to VA hospital emergency room for dehydration and figure they schedule me for a feeling tube placement They admitted me and two weeks later I woke up to my standing over me in the hospital room this occurred during my second or third drug holiday from Radicava Again no way to know if what I experienced was a side effect When I was discharged I was completely paralyzed So i started on Ayurvedic treatment from Natural Herbs Centre as time went on movement returned to my legs and to my arms and hands Able to hold my head up and strength has returned I give credit to God and NHC for my recovery Almost forgot to mention I was on 24 hours ventilation Now only use vent at night and during naps Was diagnosed in 2021 with ALS, I urge you to seek out We’re a little scared to tell everyone because some people might not believe us, since there’s no cure for ALS. But when I saw this post, I decided to share our story. This treatment is a breakthrough!