Protecting neurons in neurodegenerative disease

Neurobiologist from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research proved that excitability protects motoneurons from degeneration in amyotropic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease. By modulating excitability they could influence the rate of motor dysfunction and muscle denervation, and slow the progression rate of the disease. This is important because it points to a possible way to delay the progression of this so far incurable disease. Their results are published online in Neuron. Neurodegenerative diseases start silently. For years, the disease causes damage, while the nervous system compensates and adapts, keeping up a semblance of normalcy. By the time the symptoms appear and the patient seeks the advice of a physician, it is no longer clear what changes in the nervous system were caused by the disease, what by compensation.