Toxic Protein Could Be Behind the Development of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
New research has found that a toxic protein may affect the skeletal muscle tissues, spinal cord, and brain, aiding the development and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS in short, is an illness that affects an individual’s nervous system, causing nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain to degenerate. As it progresses, this motor neuron illness leads to muscle weakness and atrophy. The research was carried out by a team of scientists from Penn State College of Medicine. It was based on prior studies which implicated mutations of the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) protein in…