Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis neuronal degeneration reduced by growth factor

Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) and the University of Milan (Italy) have demonstrated that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) neuronal degeneration may be reduced following treatment with IGF-2. Following observations that IGF-2 is present in degeneration-resistant oculomotor neurons, they successfully applied IGF-2 to non-resistant neurons in vitro and in vivo, indicating a potential new target for ALS treatment. Previous research has shown that the progressive degeneration of motor neurons that characterizes ALS does not apply to oculomotor neurons, which appear to be relatively degeneration-resistant. In the search for genetic targets for new treatments, researchers have attempted to identify the...