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Researchers identify the TBK1 gene as a risk factor in MND

Reading Time: 2 minutes Published on 19 February 2015 in the Journal Science, an international team of scientists have found mutations in the gene TBK1 as a contributory risk factor in MND. Identifying TBK1 An international team, led by scientists at Columbia University in New York, have identified a new MND susceptibility gene – TBK1.  The researchers used whole genome sequencing to sequence…

Lessons learnt from cancer – identifying the causes of MND

Reading Time: 4 minutes Published in Lancet Neurology on 7 October 2014, Association-funded researcher, Prof Ammar Al-Chalabi based at King’s College London, and an international team of researchers have used a new approach to study the causes of MND. Under the leadership of Prof Neil Pearce, based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, researchers have used a mathematical…

Researchers in Australia identify how blue-green algae may cause some cases of MND

Reading Time: 4 minutes A toxin known as β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), which is found in blue-green algae, has been shown to cause proteins inside cells to clump together and cause cell death. This finding suggests that BMAA may be a cause of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and MND and could lead to the development of new treatments. What is BMAA? BMAA is…