A protein involved in neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease (covered by DB in spectroscopynow.com, 2005-01-01), has been identified by researchers in Germany and the US. Manuela Neumann and colleagues identified TDP-43 as the pathogenicprotein involved in this form of dementia. These illnesses are the second most common cause of dementia in the under 65s, after Alzheimer’s disease, and commonly afflict people in their 40s and 50s. TDP-43 is one of the missing misfolded proteins found in the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. The researchers hope that their work will help in the study of dementia and motor neurone disease.
More information in the AAAS magazine Science today.
[Note, the original press release from AAAS actually said motor neutron disease, DB]