Crucial Link Between Prions And ALS Discovered - May Transform Treatment

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/inde...e=newssections

...An important review published by the investigation team published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals that the SOD1 protein (superoxide dismutase 1), which has been shown to be involved in the process of ALS disease, exhibits prion-like properties. They discovered that SOD1 partakes in a process called template-directed misfolding. This term refers to the coercion of one protein by another protein to change shape and accumulate in large complexes in a similar way to the process underlying prion diseases.

These discoveries offer a molecular reason for the progressive spread of ALS through the nervous system, and draw attention to the key role of the propagation of misfolded proteins in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's...