Researches towards Motor Neuron Diseases

A broad range of researches are being conducted, aiming to discover the cause of motor neuron diseases, find better treatments, and, ultimately, prevent and cure the disease. We have made a lot of achievements and progress in motor neuron diseases studies.

Various motor neuron diseases animal models are being used to study disease pathology and identify chemical and molecular processes involved in cellular degeneration, thus finding better treatment for the disease. Research options fall largely into three categories: drugs, gene therapy, and stem cells.

• The drug of antibiotic ceftriaxone has been shown to protect nerves by reducing glutamate toxicity—believed by many scientists to play a critical role in the development of ALS, the most common type of motor neuron diseases—in a mouse model of the disease. One study found that cellular ability to manage glutamate can alter the course of ALS. It is a promising drug for motor neuron diseases, especially for ALS.

• The novel compound dexpramipexole has shown neuroprotective properties in multiple preclinical studies of ALS, and it may work by increasing the efficiency of mitochondria, which is the energy-producing portion of the body’s cells. Mitochondria in the motor neurons undergo significant stress in ALS patients. The compound is currently being tested in an industry-sponsored multi-center clinical trial.

• Several early-stage clinical trials are testing the safety and feasibility of novel treatment strategies for motor neuron diseases. These include cell-based approaches such as the transplantation of neural precursor cells into the spinal cord of the patients, and the infusion of so-called “anti-sense” compounds into the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord and brain to block production of toxic SOD1 protein in ALS patients who carry SOD1 mutations.

Clinical trials are testing whether different drugs or interventions are safe and effective in slowing the progression of motor neuron diseases.

The achievements and progress made in motor neuron diseases researches enable us to have a better understanding of the disease and provide better treatments. You are all welcome to contact us if you have any questions about the disease.