NU Researchers Make Breakthrough in Study of Lou Gehrig's Disease

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Aug 22, 2011 7:20PM

Researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine say they have made a breakthrough in finding a way to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. NU Neurologist Dr. Teepu Siddique was able to identify some of the causes of the disease, after a 25-year study of a family overwhelmingly affected by the disease. There is currently no known treatment for ALS and half of all patients die within three years. This study could help reverse that. The Tribune reports, in technical jargon:

The Northwestern team identified the breakdown of cellular recycling systems in the neurons of the spinal cord and brain of ALS patients that results in the nervous system slowly losing its ability to carry brain signals to the body's muscular system.

Without those signals, patients gradually are deprived of the ability to move, talk, swallow and breathe.

The breakthrough will help researchers test for drugs to regulate these problems. The discovery could also help find ways to treat Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's disease.