Motor Neurone – Dementia link
Dr Stephen Hawking
An abnormal protein found in the brains of people who died from motor neurone disease, and dementia, might offer the possibility of a cure for both plus other neuro-degenerative diseases.
A report in the latest edition of the international journal Science says the protein, identified as TDP 43 by US researchers, provides the first molecular link between the dementia FTD which is the most common cause of dementia in people under 65, and the motor neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). British scientist Dr Stephen Hawking suffers from ALS.
Improved understanding of the processes driving the diseases is critical to developing therapies to slow or stop them.
