Spectrums of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - by Christopher a Shaw & Jessica R Morrice (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting both upper and lower motor neurons. Based on age at onset, site of onset, disease duration, and relative predominance of upper or lower motor neuron signs, clinical manifestations of ALS are very heterogeneous, and different clinical subtypes may be delineated. Although ALS has long been considered a paradigm of pure motor neuron disorder, it has recently been linked to other neurological diseases. Clinical, genetic, and/or neuropathological overlap exists with frontotemporal dementia, distal myopathies, psychiatric disorders, and extrapyramidal syndromes. This clinical heterogeneity can depend on the pleiotropy of ALS-associated genes and by the oligogenic model of disease mechanism. A number of animal models have been created, each of them recapitulating some clinical and neuropathological features of patients. More recently, induced pluripotent stem cells have been used, directly derived from affected patients with different genetic mutations. The combination of animal and cellular models represents an advanced tool that can help to functionally characterize the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the disease and specifically find efficient and personalized drugs to treat ALS patients"--

Book Synopsis

SPECTRUMS OF AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS

Discover state-of-the-art research findings on ALS from leading authors and editors in the field

In Spectrums of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Heterogeneity, Pathogenesis & Therapeutic Directions, distinguished researchers and editors Dr. Christopher A. Shaw and Jessica R. Morrice deliver a practical and powerful perspective on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) as a heterogeneous spectrum of disorders. This increasingly accepted point-of-view allows researchers and medical professionals to develop better targeted interventions and more precise therapies.

In the book, readers will find chapters on a wide variety of critical issues facing ALS researchers and healthcare practitioners treating ALS sufferers, including animal models of ALS, neuronal support cells known to have a pivotal role in ALS, and current challenges in ALS clinical trials, among others. The authors describe pathologic features common to all cases of ALS and why animal models, though crucial, should be interpreted with caution. Finally, multiple genetic and environmental etiologies of the disease are discussed.

Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of:

• A thorough introduction to ALS as a spectrum disease and the implications for models, therapeutic development and clinical trial design
• Explorations of the genetic basis of ALS, prospective sALS etiologies, and the involvement of microbiome in ALS
• Discussions of ALS-PDC and environmental risk factors, protein aggregation in ALS, defects in RNA metabolism in ALS, and the non-cell autonomous nature of ALS and the involvement of glial cells
• Examinations of animal models of ALS and perspectives on previously failed ALS therapeutics and current therapeutic strategies

Perfect for clinical neurologists, healthcare providers and caretakers, clinicians, and researchers studying motor neuron disease, Spectrums of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Heterogeneity, Pathogenesis & Therapeutic Directions is also an indispensable resource for the neurodegenerative research community, neurology residents, and graduate-level neuroscience students.