[SCAN] Molecular markers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Scan Seminar

Title: Molecular markers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Speaker: Julia Costa

From: Glycobiology Lab, ITQB

Abstract:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor neuron loss. About 5-10% of the cases are familial but most cases are sporadic. Cellular mechanisms are deregulated with pathological characteristics that include protein aggregation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, Golgi disruption, impaired axonal transport and glutamate excitotoxicity. The identification of molecular biomarkers is valuable for several reasons, namely, to support earlier diagnosis, which at present is only based on clinical observation and electrodiagnosis, to define subgroups of patients with similar prognosis, as ALS patients have a very variable progression rate, to monitor the effect of therapeutic interventions in trials, and to understand etiopathogenesis.
Results about several deregulated molecules from the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid of ALS patients will be presented, and their potential as candidate disease biomarkers will be discussed.