A biological treatment targeting the protein CD40L has a therapeutic effect on mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), reports a new study published in Nature Genetics. The study suggests that ALS progression may be amenable to treatments that target the immune response.
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to neuron loss in the brain and spinal cord and eventual paralysis. ALS affects approximately 2 per 100,000 individuals worldwide and is typically fatal within 5 years of diagnosis. Steven Perrin and colleagues administered a monoclonal antibody to CD40L to mice with a mutation in SOD1 -- a commonly used mouse model for ALS. They found that the anti-CD40L antibody delayed onset of paralysis and on average, led to a 40% extension of life duration after the first signs of paralysis. Author contact: Steven Perrin (ALS Therapy Development Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA)
E-mail: sperrin@als.net Abstract available online. (C) Nature Genetics press release.
Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza
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