Researchers at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester have discovered that a motor neuron toxin is associated with ALS and dementia.
The research team, headed by UMass Chan neurology professors Brigitte van Zundert and Robert Brown discovered in a mouse study that a toxin known as polyP is a likely contributor to motor neuron death.
“We are encouraged by these early results,” Brown said in a written statement. “These findings provide an entirely new perspective on ALS [disease development], raising exciting hypotheses and possibilities both for disease biomarkers and for therapeutic targets.”
Lowering levels of polyP could help with future therapeutic treatments for patients with the diseases, said van Zhundert. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
