PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers discover blood biomarker for Lou Gehrig's disease, could lead to new treatments

2012-08-06
(Press-News.org) BOSTON, MA—Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover that changes in monocytes (a type of white blood cell) are a biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. This finding also brings the medical community a step closer toward a new treatment for the debilitating neurological disease that affects approximately 30,000 Americans.

The study will be published online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation on August 6, 2012.

In pre-clinical studies involving mice with an ALS gene mutation, the researchers saw that two months prior to ALS onset, monocytes in the spleen began exhibiting proinflammatory qualities. As disease onset loomed, there was an increase in cell-signaling molecules that directed monocytes to flood the spinal cord. Influx of these inflamed white blood cells was associated with nerve cell death in the spinal cord.

When the researchers treated the mice with antibodies to modulate the inflammatory monocytes, they found that it led to fewer monocytes entering the spinal cord, diminished nerve cell loss and extended survival.

After having observed these activities in mice, the BWH researchers, working with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) ALS Clinic and research team, found that there were similar monocytes in humans with ALS that also exhibited a disease-specific inflammatory signature.

"People have wondered if the immune system plays a role in neurological diseases like ALS," said Howard Weiner, MD, director of the BWH Multiple Sclerosis Program and senior study author. "The immune system is complicated, and previous immunotherapy trials have not been successful. But now we know what is wrong in the blood, and this opens up new therapeutic targets for ALS and perhaps other diseases in the near future."

Study co-author Merit Cudkowicz, MD, who heads the ALS program at MGH adds, "These findings identify a potential new target for developing treatments for people with ALS."

Oleg Butovsky, PhD, BWH Department of Neurology is first study author and lead scientist on the study.

Each year, approximately 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS, a disease that affects nerve and muscle functioning, eventually leading to paralysis. The average age at diagnosis is 55 years old and half of those affected live at least three or more years after being diagnosed. Twenty percent live five years or more, and up to 10 percent will live more than ten years.

### This research was supported by the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, National Institutes of Health (AG027437), Prize for Life, and the Tufts Center for Neuroscience Research.

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare. BWH has more than 3.5 million annual patient visits, is the largest birthing center in New England and employs nearly 15,000 people. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in patient care, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and its dedication to research, innovation, community engagement and educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, involving nearly 1,000 physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by nearly $625 million in funding. BWH continually pushes the boundaries of medicine, including building on its legacy in organ transplantation by performing the first face transplants in the U.S. in 2011. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies, OurGenes and the Women's Health Initiative. For more information and resources, please visit BWH's online newsroom.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The genetic cause of a severe skeletal disease in Brazilian Terrier puppies revealed

2012-08-06
The genetics research group led by Professor Hannes Lohi, based at the University of Helsinki and the Folkhälsan Research Center, has, in collaboration with Adjunct Professor Kirsi Sainio's research group, discovered the cause of a life-threatening skeletal disorder affecting Brazilian Terriers. The disease is caused by a mutation in the GUSB gene. Malfunction of the GUSB gene has previously been linked to a severe skeletal disorder in humans, called type VII mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS VII). The gene discovery is yet another example of a shared disease heritage between ...

Anti-angina drug shows protective effects from carbon monoxide

2012-08-06
An international research team, led from the University of Leeds, has found that a common anti-angina drug could help protect the heart against carbon monoxide poisoning. Animal studies have shown that the anti-angina drug ranolazine can significantly reduce the number of deaths from arrhythmias – irregular or abnormally paced heartbeats – that have been triggered by carbon monoxide. The findings could have important implications for the development of a protective treatment for adults and children who have been exposed to toxic levels of the gas. "When patients are ...

Researchers gain information advantage from surprising quantum source

Researchers gain information advantage from surprising quantum source
2012-08-06
New research lends hope that a phenomenon called quantum discord could be harnessed to bring quantum technologies within easier reach than expected. The work, by an international team, is published 5 August in Nature Physics. Up until a few years ago, researchers thought that realising quantum technologies would mean harnessing the most difficult-to-tame properties of the quantum world. For example, 'entanglement', the phenomenon referred to by Einstein as spooky-action-at-a-distance, was thought to be a resource required to run a quantum computer. This presents a challenge. ...

Taking a hit or 2

2012-08-06
Despite a huge amount of research effort, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the transition from a "normal" cell to a cancerous cell are only poorly understood. After the discovery of the first cancer-causing genes or oncogenes and the finding that they are mutated forms of normal cellular genes, it was widely believed that a single mutation was enough to cause cancer. Subsequent research, however, has revealed that most cancers only develop as a result of several mutations. A bewildering variety of combinations of mutations have been shown to have the potential ...

A KAIST research team has developed a high performance flexible solid state battery

A KAIST research team has developed a high performance flexible solid state battery
2012-08-06
The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST has developed a high performance flexible all-solid-state battery, an essential energy source for flexible displays (see paper in Nano Letters: "Bendable Inorganic Thin-Film Battery for Fully Flexible Electronic Systems"). The technological advance of thin and light flexible display has encouraged the development of flexible batteries with a high power density and thermal stability. Although rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIB) have been regarded as a strong candidate ...

Too many Facebook friends bad news for charities

2012-08-06
New research suggests the more friends we have on Facebook, the less likely we are to share information about charitable causes. Economist Professor Kimberley Scharf, from the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) at the University of Warwick, claims when we have larger online social networks, we rely on other people to pass on information about opportunities to give. This phenomenon is called 'free riding'. Professor Scharf also suggests we may even rely on others to donate. She will present her research paper 'Private Provision of Public Goods ...

Quantum physics: New insights into the remote control of quantum systems

Quantum physics: New insights into the remote control of quantum systems
2012-08-06
A fundamental characteristic of quantum physics is the fact that two or more particles can exhibit correlations stronger than classically allowed. This unique characteristic applies particularly to quantum entanglement: as soon as the quantum state of a particle is measured the state of its entangled partner changes accordingly, regardless of how far apart the two entangled particles might be. This feature allows for the remote quantum state preparation, which is an essential ingredient for applications in quantum communication, quantum cryptography, and quantum computation. The ...

UNC team describes novel inflammatory protein function

2012-08-06
A UNC-led team of scientists describes the function of a previously uncharacterized protein that dramatically influences inflammation. A majority of the NLR family of proteins function as activators of inflammation. However, scientists at UNC report that a newly identified NLR protein, NLRC3, was able to inhibit a major inflammatory pathway that is controlled by a protein called NF-Kappa B. NF-Kappa B activation has been long associated with inflammation and cancer promotion. Their article appears in the August 5,2012 online publication of the journal Nature Immunology. ...

Research links extreme summer heat events to global warming

2012-08-06
VIDEO: This visualization shows a flat map of the Earth with summertime temperature anomalies for the Northern Hemisphere. This analysis compares observed seasonal mean temperatures (June-July-August) to the seasonal mean temperatures... Click here for more information. A new statistical analysis by NASA scientists has found that Earth's land areas have become much more likely to experience an extreme summer heat wave than they were in the middle of the 20th century. The research ...

UK riots 2011: Holding media to account after the riots

2012-08-06
News outlets need to be held to account for their coverage of the English riots, a new report has argued. Media and the Riots: A Call for Action, published today on the first anniversary of the riots, is the first report to examine the impact of the mainstream print and broadcast media's reporting on the communities most affected. The report, written by Dr Leah Bassel of the University of Leicester's Department of Sociology, reflects the views of those who attended the Media and the Riots conference held by the Citizen Journalism Educational Trust and citizen journalism ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

Measuring the quantum W state

Researchers find a way to use antibodies to direct T cells to kill Cytomegalovirus-infected cells

Engineers create mini microscope for real-time brain imaging

Funding for training and research in biological complexity

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: September 12, 2025

ISSCR statement on the scientific and therapeutic value of human fetal tissue research

Novel PET tracer detects synaptic changes in spinal cord and brain after spinal cord injury

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior

OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google vary widely in identifying hate speech

Research spotlight: Study identifies a surprising new treatment target for chronic limb threatening ischemia

Childhood loneliness and cognitive decline and dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults

Parental diseases of despair and suicidal events in their children

Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults

Acupuncture treatment improves disabling effects of chronic low back pain in older adults

[Press-News.org] Researchers discover blood biomarker for Lou Gehrig's disease, could lead to new treatments