Genetics

Gene therapy targets the brain vasculature

Researchers have developed an engineered adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector that yields high transduction of brain vascular pericytes and smooth muscle cells. The study describing the characterization of this novel AAV capsid ...

Neuroscience

How artificial intelligence gave a paralyzed woman her voice back

Pat Bennett's prescription is a bit more complicated than "Take a couple of aspirins and call me in the morning." But a quartet of baby-aspirin-sized sensors implanted in her brain are aimed at addressing a condition that's ...

Biomedical technology

The race to link our brains to computers is hotting up

Brain implants have long been trapped in the realm of science fiction, but a steady trickle of medical trials suggests the tiny devices could play a big part in humanity's future.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease in American English and Motor Neurone Disease in British English, is a form of Motor Neuron Disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input. The condition is often called Lou Gehrig's disease in North America, after the New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939. The disorder is characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy and fasciculations, spasticity, dysarthria, dysphagia, and respiratory compromise. Sensory function generally is spared, as is autonomic and oculomotor activity. ALS is a progressive, fatal, neurodegenerative disease with most affected patients dying of respiratory compromise and pneumonia after 2 to 3 years; although some perish within a year from the onset of symptoms, and occasional individuals have a more indolent course and survive for many years.

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