A recently published study examines the response of motor nerve cells to motor neuron disease. Researchers hope that by more completely understanding this cellular response that they may be able to better develop treatments for motor neuron disease. Keep reading to learn more or follow the original story here.
Also referred to as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), motor neuron disease, is related to the death of motor nerve cells. In its earliest stages, ALS causes a decrease in muscular functions. In time, the diseases leads to paralysis. Eventually individuals affected by ALS increase die as a result of no longer being able to breathe.
No treatment for ALS currently exist, beyond symptoms management. After onset of ALS, when symptoms become evident, patients tend to live only three to five years.
Animal studies targeting ALS previously revealed that motor neurons change in size when affected by the disease. Furthermore, these changes are inconsistent. New research, however, is the first to bring forth solid evidence of these changes.
The new research confirms the suspicion that motor neurons change in size during the progression of ALS, and that different varieties of motor neurons are affected in different ways. Such changes have significant impact on the function of affected neurons and seem to determine their lifespan.
One of the most important findings of the new research is that those motor neurons which are most susceptible to ALS increase in size earliest in the disease’s progression. In fact, those neurons which are most vulnerable begin to grow before symptoms of ALS even appear. Other more resilient motor neurons, those which die later or last, do not increase in size.
Researchers express hope that understanding the way in which neurons change size and which neurons are most effective will lead to development of treatment. It may yet be possible to develop a therapy which prevents or delays the death of motor cells if this riddle can be solved.
The new research indicates that motor neurons change as a strategy for coping with ALS. They undergo transformations, changing their normal qualities, in an effort to maintain their function. It is these very changes, however, which ultimately lead to premature cell death. The research also points to specific and novel alterations vulnerable neurons undergo which may explain why they die so early in the disease.
