On a Therapeutic PathAn Immune Therapy?
The idea of immunizing fALS patients against a toxic protein that’s found in many with familial ALS has driven Jean-Pierre Julien’s (Laval U., Quebec) work. This year, he reported on animal research necessary to verify the principle. Using the SOD1 mice that model ALS, Julien’s lab introduced several antibodies they’d created to “defuse” the SOD1 protein. One antibody in particular extended mouse lives significantly. Then came months of effort to confirm what occurred on a biological level. One benefit of the antibodies, it seems, is in prompting the body to clear away toxic SOD1 protein. Though major work on creating human-compatible antibodies is yet to come, these results suggest, he says, that an immune approach could go into human clinical trials in a few years The Zebrafish Secret
Catherina Becker (U.Edinburgh, Scotland) has been using zebrafish to map the chemical pathways turned on when their embryos create motor neurons. As important, she’s shown the same paths are active when adult fish regrow motor neurons after injury. Further, she’s found various compounds that can step up the paths’ activity or turn it down. So far, Becker has used the fish to screen the first of some 2,000 agents for an ability to encourage motor neuron growth. Of the six successful agents she recently found, one dramatically increases neuron number in the fish and is prompting more study. | 
