Tom Gillingwater and Laura Comley, working together with colleagues in the Netherlands, have published a paper in Acta Neuropathologica identifying new pathways that regulate motor neurone stability and degeneration. The collaborative research project has shown that unrepaired damage to the DNA of motor neurones can bring about motor neurone degeneration, mimicking the pathological events observed in many types of motor neurone disease. The findings support the likelihood that accumulation of damaged DNA may contribute to motor neurone vulnerability in human neuromuscular disorders, including MND. The study suggests that designing new therapeutic approaches targeting DNA repair pathways may help to slow or delay motor neurone degeneration. 

Full paper details: de Waard MC, van der Pluijm I, Zuiderveen Borgesius N, Comley LH, Haasdijk ED, Rijksen Y, Ridwan Y, Zondag G, Hoeijmakers JH, Elgersma Y, Gillingwater TH, Jaarsma D. Age-related motor neurone degeneration in DNA repair-deficient Ercc1 mice. Acta Neuropathologica 2010 Jul 4. [Epub ahead of print]