Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Respiratory-Swallowing Coordination In Motor Neuron Disease: A Scoping Review, Mariam Z. Mansoor

Student Research Symposium

Respiratory-swallowing coordination (RSC) is essential for providing efficient breathing and optimal swallowing function. Most commonly used methods of measuring RSC include nasal thermistry, and respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) to determine direction and durations of airflow. Outcome measures include swallow apnea duration (SAD) and respiratory phase pattern (RPP), i.e., direction of airflow pre- and post-SAD. The goal of the current project was to conduct a scoping literature review of RSC, focusing on the motor neuron disease (MND) population, including people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A multi-engine literature search was conducted in 2023-24 via PubMed and Google Scholar. No limitations were …

Biomarkers For Managing Neurodegenerative Diseases, Lara Cheslow, Adam E. Snook, Scott A. Waldman

Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Neurological disorders are the leading cause of cognitive and physical disability worldwide, affecting 15% of the global population. Due to the demographics of aging, the prevalence of neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, will double over the next two decades. Unfortunately, while available therapies provide symptomatic relief for cognitive and motor impairment, there is an urgent unmet need to develop disease-modifying therapies that slow the rate of pathological progression. In that context, biomarkers could identify at-risk and prodromal patients, monitor disease progression, track responses to therapy, and parse the causality of molecular events to identify novel targets for further clinical investigation. …

A Brief Literature Review Of Low-Level Laser Therapy For Treating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Confirmation Of Its Effectiveness, Sergey Vladimirovich Moskvin

BioMedicine

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a steadily progressive course due to the death of central and peripheral motor neurons responsible for voluntary movements. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a treatment method unique in its universality and efficacy, particularly for neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods: In this review, we discuss the effect and application of LLLT in the treatment of ALS. A literature search for English and Russian publications for the keywords "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis", "Low-Level Laser Therapy" was performed using PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) databases.

Results: The article …

Ephrinb2 Knockdown In Cervical Spinal Cord Preserves Diaphragm Innervation In A Mutant Sod1 Mouse Model Of Als, Mark W. Urban, Brittany A. Charsar, Nicolette M. Heinsinger, Shashirekha S. Markandaiah, Lindsay Sprimont, Wei Zhou, Eric V. Brown, Nathan T. Henderson, Samantha J. Thomas, Biswarup Ghosh, Rachel E. Cain, Davide Trotti, Piera Pasinelli, Megan C. Wright, Matthew B. Dalva, Angelo C. Lepore

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Staff Papers and Presentations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor neuron loss. Importantly, non-neuronal cell types such as astrocytes also play significant roles in disease pathogenesis. However, mechanisms of astrocyte contribution to ALS remain incompletely understood. Astrocyte involvement suggests that transcellular signaling may play a role in disease. We examined contribution of transmembrane signaling molecule ephrinB2 to ALS pathogenesis, in particular its role in driving motor neuron damage by spinal cord astrocytes. In symptomatic SOD1G93A mice (a well-established ALS model), ephrinB2 expression was dramatically increased in ventral horn astrocytes. Reducing ephrinB2 in the cervical spinal cord ventral horn via …

Emerging Perspectives Of Synaptic Biomarkers In Als And Ftd, Karthik Krishnamurthy, Raj Kumar Pradhan

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Staff Papers and Presentations

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) are debilitating neurodegenerative diseases with shared pathological features like transactive response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) inclusions and genetic mutations. Both diseases involve synaptic dysfunction, contributing to their clinical features. Synaptic biomarkers, representing proteins associated with synaptic function or structure, offer insights into disease mechanisms, progression, and treatment responses. These biomarkers can detect disease early, track its progression, and evaluate therapeutic efficacy. ALS is characterized by elevated neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood, correlating with disease progression. TDP-43 is another key ALS biomarker, its mislocalization linked …

Increase In Hnrnpa1 Expression Suffices To Kill Motor Neurons In Transgenic Rats, Xionghao Liu, Tingting Zhang, Qinxue Wu, Cao Huang, Xu-Gang Xia, Hongxia Zhou, Bo Huang

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

A dominant mutation in hnRNPA1 causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but it is not known whether this mutation leads to motor neuron death through increased or decreased function. To elucidate the relationship between pathogenic hnRNPA1 mutation and its native function, we created novel transgenic rats that overexpressed wildtype rat hnRNPA1 exclusively in motor neurons. This targeted expression of wildtype hnRNPA1 caused severe motor neuron loss and subsequent denervation muscle atrophy in transgenic rats that recapitulated the characteristics of ALS. These findings demonstrate that the augmentation of hnRNPA1 expression suffices to trigger motor neuron degeneration and the manifestation of ALS-like phenotypes. …

Advances In Molecular Pathology, Diagnosis, And Treatment Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis., Hristelina Ilieva, Mithila Vullaganti, Justin Kwan

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Although the past two decades have produced exciting discoveries in the genetics and pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), progress in developing an effective therapy remains slow. This review summarizes the critical discoveries and outlines the advances in disease characterization, diagnosis, imaging, and biomarkers, along with the current status of approaches to ALS care and treatment. Additional knowledge of the factors driving disease progression and heterogeneity will hopefully soon transform the care for patients with ALS into an individualized, multi-prong approach able to prevent disease progression sufficiently to allow for a dignified life with limited disability.

Biological Networks And Complexity In Early-Onset Motor Neuron Diseases, Matthew E. R. Butchbach, Rod C. Scott

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Motor neuron diseases (MNDs) are neuromuscular disorders where the spinal motor neurons–either the cell bodies themselves or their axons–are the primary cells affected. To date, there are 120 different genes that are lost or mutated in pediatric-onset MNDs. Most of these childhood-onset disorders, aside from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), lack viable therapeutic options. Previous research on MNDs has focused on understanding the pathobiology of a single, specific gene mutation and targeting therapies to that pathobiology. This reductionist approach has yielded therapeutic options for a specific disorder, in this case SMA. Unfortunately, therapies specific for SMA have not been effective against …

Breakdown Of The Central Synapses In C9orf72-Linked Als/Ftd, Layla T. Ghaffari, Davide Trotti, Aaron R. Haeusler, Brigid K Jensen

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease that leads to the death of motor and cortical neurons. The clinical manifestations of ALS are heterogenous, and efficacious treatments to significantly slow the progression of the disease are lacking. Cortical hyper-excitability is observed pre-symptomatically across disease-causative genetic variants, as well as in the early stages of sporadic ALS, and typically precedes motor neuron involvement and overt neurodegeneration. The causes of cortical hyper-excitability are not yet fully understood but is mainly agreed to be an early event. The identification of the nucleotide repeat expansion (GGGGCC)n in the C9ORF72 gene has …

Antioxidant Biomarkers And Nutraceutical Therapeutics In Neurodegeneration And Neurotrauma, Lilia A. Koza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), yielding a Glascow Coma Scale of 13-15, is the most commonly occurring severity of TBI. Pathology from mTBI consists of blood brain barrier disruption, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, protein aggregation, axonal degeneration, and resulting neuronal death. These processes deplete the body’s endogenous antioxidant system. We report a retrospective analysis of antioxidant blood biomarkers in patients with a history of mTBI from a local sports medicine clinic, Resilience Code. We found persistent sex-specific antioxidant depletions in mTBI patients associated with worsened symptomology.

Certain populations, such as athletes, are at high risk for repetitive mTBI …

Determining The Initial Content Validity Of The Clinical Competency Assessment Tool (Cat) For Occupational Therapists Treating Patients With Neurodegenerative Disease, Scott G. Rushanan, Dawn M. Nilsen, Lenin Grajo

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The provision of occupational therapy (OT) interventions for people with neurodegenerative disorder (NDD) requires advanced clinical competency; therefore, a means to evaluate that competency is needed. The Clinical Competency Assessment Tool for Occupational Therapists Treating Patients with Neurodegenerative Disease (CAT) was recently developed as a self-report assessment that aims to identify gaps in clinical competence and measure outcomes of professional development programs specific to occupational therapists treating patients with NDD. The purpose of this study is to explore preliminary content validity of the CAT. Classical test theory was used to test for content validity. A panel of 10 expert occupational …

Pulmonary Function Decline In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Terry D. Heiman-Patterson, Ossama Khazaal, Daohai Yu, Michael E. Sherman, Edward J. Kasarskis, Carlayne E. Jackson, Peg Niv Study Group

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background: There has been no comprehensive longitudinal study of pulmonary functions (PFTS) in ALS determining which measure is most sensitive to declines in respiratory muscle strength. Objective: To determine the longitudinal decline of PFTS in ALS and which measure supports Medicare criteria for NIV initiation first. Methods: Serial PFTs (maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), maximum inspiratory pressure measured by mouth (MIP) or nasal sniff pressure (SNIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), and Forced Vital Capacity (FVC)) were performed over 12 months on 73 ALS subjects to determine which measure showed the sentinel decline in pulmonary function. The rate of decline for each …

Evaluating The Perspectives Of Those With Severe Physical Impairments While Learning Bci Control Of A Commercial Augmentative And Alternative Communication Paradigm, Kevin Pitt, Jonathan S. Brumberg

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) techniques can provide access to communication for individuals with severe physical impairments. Brain–computer interface (BCI) access techniques may serve alongside existing AAC access methods to provide communication device control. However, there is limited information available about how individual perspectives change with motor-based BCI-AAC learning. Four individuals with ALS completed 12 BCI-AAC training sessions in which they made letter selections during an automatic row-column scanning pattern via a motor-based BCI-AAC. Recurring measures were taken before and after each BCI-AAC training session to evaluate changes associated with BCI-AAC performance, and included measures of fatigue, frustration, mental effort, …

Communication Surrounding Initiation And Withdrawal Of Non-Invasive Ventilation In Adults With Motor Neuron(E) Disease: Clinicians’ And Family Members’ Perspectives, Charlotte Chapman, Sara Bayes, Moira Sim

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Introduction:

International guidelines recommend that health care clinicians communicate with people with MND and their family members about non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and percutaneous gastrostomy tube (PEG) prior to or at the onset of respiratory symptoms. This study sought to discover the degree to which these recommendations are followed in practice.

Methods:

Interpretive Description methodology was employed. Nineteen clinicians experienced in caring for people with MND, six relatives of recently deceased people with MND and one person with MND participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. Clinicians’ accounts of NIV and PEG related communications were compared to family member participants’ recollections of their …

Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative (Ondri): Structural Mri Methods And Outcome Measures, Joel Ramirez, Melissa F. Holmes, Christopher J.M. Scott, Miracle Ozzoude, Miracle Ozzoude, Sabrina Adamo, Gregory M. Szilagyi, Maged Goubran, Fuqiang Gao, Stephen R. Arnott, Jane M. Lawrence-Dewar, Jane M. Lawrence-Dewar, Derek Beaton, Stephen C. Strother, Douglas P. Munoz, Mario Masellis, Richard H. Swartz, Robert Bartha, Sean P. Symons, Sandra E. Black, Michael Strong, Peter Kleinstiver, Natalie Rashkovan, Susan Bronskill, Sandra E. Black, Michael Borrie, Elizabeth Finger, Corinne Fischer, Andrew Frank, Morris Freedman, Sanjeev Kumar, Stephen Pasternak

Medical Biophysics Publications

The Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative (ONDRI) is a 3 years multi-site prospective cohort study that has acquired comprehensive multiple assessment platform data, including 3T structural MRI, from neurodegenerative patients with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and cerebrovascular disease. This heterogeneous cross-section of patients with complex neurodegenerative and neurovascular pathologies pose significant challenges for standard neuroimaging tools. To effectively quantify regional measures of normal and pathological brain tissue volumes, the ONDRI neuroimaging platform implemented a semi-automated MRI processing pipeline that was able to address many of the challenges resulting from this heterogeneity. The purpose …

Promoting Independence Through Effective Interventions For Adults With Als, Renee Gluchowski, Ots, Hannah Harris, Ots, Jaclyn Heineman, Ots, Kimberly Kendro, Ots, Heather Malosky, Ots

Collaborative Research and Evidence shared Among Therapists and Educators (CREATE Day)

PICO Question

What are effective occupational therapy interventions for adults with ALS to improve participation in ADLs/IADLs?

Objectives

• Define amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and recognize the prevalence
• Identify and describe evidence-based interventions to promote independence for individuals with ALS in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
• Discuss how the current literature on the effective interventions impacts occupational performance and treatment of adults with ALS

Non-Invasive Mri Quantification Of Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients., Lucas R Sass, Mohammadreza Khani, Jacob Romm, Marianne Schmid Daners, Kyle Mccain, Tavara Freeman, Gregory T Carter, Douglas L Weeks, Brian Petersen, Jason Aldred, Dena Wingett, Bryn A Martin

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Developing novel therapeutic agents to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been difficult due to multifactorial pathophysiologic processes at work. Intrathecal drug administration shows promise due to close proximity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to affected tissues. Development of effective intrathecal pharmaceuticals will rely on accurate models of how drugs are dispersed in the CSF. Therefore, a method to quantify these dynamics and a characterization of differences across disease states is needed.

METHODS: Complete intrathecal 3D CSF geometry and CSF flow velocities at six axial locations in the spinal canal were collected by T2-weighted and phase-contrast MRI, respectively. Scans were …

Frontotemporal Dementia Nonsense Mutation Of Progranulin Rescued By Aminoglycosides, Lisha Kuang, Kei Hashimoto, Eric J. Huang, Matthew S. Gentry, Haining Zhu

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an early onset dementia and is characterized by progressive atrophy of the frontal and/or temporal lobes. FTD is highly heritable with mutations in progranulin accounting for 5-26% of cases in different populations. Progranulin is involved in endocytosis, secretion and lysosomal processes, but its function under physiological and pathological conditions remains to be defined. Many FTD-causing nonsense progranulin mutations contain a premature termination codon (PTC), thus progranulin haploinsufficiency has been proposed as a major disease mechanism. Currently, there is no effective FTD treatment or therapy.

Aminoglycosides are a class of antibiotics that possess a less known function …

Methamphetamine: Potential Risk Factor For Neurodegenerative Conditions, Katelyn Sarlette

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Methamphetamine use is a relevant problems in many communities. While it has many adverse health effects, it may also contribute to the development of the neurodegenerative conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and Parkinson’s disease (PD).

• A literature review was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, Clinical Key, and DynaMed. Literature found included high quality systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analysis.

• Literature supports that METH use has several major neurotoxic effects resulting in physical and cognitive deficits. There is minimal available evidence evaluating METH use as a risk factor for ALS although, they do share …

The Impact Of Dysphagia And Gastrostomy On Quality Of Life In Caregivers Of Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Emily Clare Sither Goggin

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

There is little research studying the relationship between caregiver quality of life and gastrostomy, a palliative intervention recommended to manage dysphagia and malnutrition in patients diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). To facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of treatment effectiveness and to better guide patients and their families, this study investigated the relationship between gastrostomy, caregiver strain, and patient disease-related factors. Patients with bulbar-onset ALS and their caregivers were recruited regardless of their decision to accept or decline future gastrostomy. Caregivers completed the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) to assess levels of caregiver strain as an index of quality of …

Als Mutations Of Fus Suppress Protein Translation And Disrupt The Regulation Of Nonsense-Mediated Decay, Marisa Kamelgarn, Jing Chen, Lisha Kuang, Huan Jin, Edward J. Kasarskis, Haining Zhu

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease characterized by preferential motor neuron death. Approximately 15% of ALS cases are familial, and mutations in the fused in sarcoma (FUS) gene contribute to a subset of familial ALS cases. FUS is a multifunctional protein participating in many RNA metabolism pathways. ALS-linked mutations cause a liquid–liquid phase separation of FUS protein in vitro, inducing the formation of cytoplasmic granules and inclusions. However, it remains elusive what other proteins are sequestered into the inclusions and how such a process leads to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration. In this study, we developed …

Mutant Ubqln2p497h In Motor Neurons Leads To Als-Like Phenotypes And Defective Autophagy In Rats, Tianhong Chen, Bo Huang, Xinglong Shi, Limo Gao, Cao Huang

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Mutations in ubiquilin2 (UBQLN2) have been linked to abnormal protein aggregation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The mechanisms underlying UBQLN2-related neurodegenerative diseases remain unclear. Using a tetracycline-regulated gene expression system, the ALS-linked UBQLN2P497H mutant was selectively expressed in either the spinal motor neurons or astrocytes in rats. We found that selectively expressing mutant UBQLN2P497H in the spinal motor neurons caused several core features of ALS, including the progressive degeneration of motor neurons, the denervation atrophy of skeletal muscles, and the abnormal protein accumulation. Furthermore, mutant UBQLN2P497H accumulation was associated with an age-dependent decrease in several core autophagy-related proteins. ALS-like phenotypes …

Longitudinal Screening Detects Cognitive Stability And Behavioral Deterioration In Als Patients, Susan Woolley, Ray Goetz, Pam Factor-Litvak, Jennifer Murphy, Jonathan Hupf, Catherine Lomen-Hoerth, Howard Andrews, Daragh Heitzman, Richard Bedlack, Jonathan Katz, Richard Barohn, Eric Sorenson, Bjorn Oskarsson, Americo Fernandes Filho, Edward J. Kasarskis, Tahseen Mozaffar, Sharon Nations, Andrea Swenson, Agnes Koczon-Jaremko, Georgia Christodoulou, Hiroshi Mitsumoto

Neurology Faculty Publications

Objective. To evaluate longitudinal cognitive/behavioral change over 12 months in participants enrolled in the ALS Multicenter Cohort Study of Oxidative Stress (ALS COSMOS). Methods. We analyzed data from 294 ALS participants, 134 of whom were studied serially. Change over time was evaluated controlling for age, sex, symptom duration, education, race, and ethnicity. Using multiple regression, we evaluated associations among decline in ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) scores, forced vital capacity (FVC), and cognitive/behavioral changes. Change in cognitive/behavioral subgroups was assessed using one-way analyses of covariance. Results. Participants with follow-up data had fewer baseline behavior problems compared to patients …

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Presenting As Chronic Cough, Marjorie Friedman, Md

The Medicine Forum

INTRODUCTION

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating, uniformly fatal disease. While it most commonly presents with limb weakness, patients may also present with neurocognitive, respiratory, or bulbar symptoms. Despite its poor prognosis, an early diagnosis can save patients from unnecessary and expensive testing, lead to interventions that improve quality of life, and give patients and family time for advanced planning.1 This case highlights an unusual presentation of ALS.

KEY POINTS

• Our patient presented with chronic cough and restrictive lung disease and after extensive workup was diagnosed with ALS.
• Bulbar and respiratory symptoms are uncommon initial presentations of ALS.
• Early …

Assessment Of Bulbar Function In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Validation Of A Self-Report Scale (Center For Neurologic Study Bulbar Function Scale)., R A Smith, E A Macklin, K J Myers, G L Pattee, K L Goslin, G D Meekins, J R Green, J M Shefner, E P Pioro

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Impaired bulbar functions of speech and swallowing are among the most serious consequences of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite this, clinical trials in ALS have rarely emphasized bulbar function as an endpoint. The rater-administered Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) or various quality-of-life measures are commonly used to measure symptomatic benefit. Accordingly, we sought to evaluate the utility of measures specific to bulbar function in ALS.

METHODS: We assessed bulbar functions in 120 patients with ALS, with clinicians first making direct observations of the degree of speech, swallowing and salivation impairment in these subjects. Clinical diagnosis …

Clinical And Experimental Studies Of A Novel P525r Fus Mutation In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Lisha Kuang, Marisa Kamelgarn, Alexandra Arenas, Jozsef Gal, Deborah Taylor, Weiming Gong, Martin Brown, Daret St. Clair, Edward J. Kasarskis, Haining Zhu

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Objective: To describe the clinical features of a novel fused in sarcoma (FUS) mutation in a young adult female amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient with rapid progression of weakness and to experimentally validate the consequences of the P525R mutation in cellular neuronal models.

Methods: We conducted sequencing of genomic DNA from the index patient and her family members. Immunocytochemistry was performed in various cellular models to determine whether the newly identified P525R mutant FUS protein accumulated in cytoplasmic inclusions. Clinical features of the index patient were compared with 19 other patients with ALS carrying the P525L mutation in the same …

Hsp90 And Its Co-Chaperones Modify Tdp-43 Localization, Aggregation, And Toxicity, Lilian T. Lin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with protein misfolding and protein aggregation. In particular, the TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) is often found in the pathological inclusions in neurons of ALS patient brains and spinal cords. This phenomenon is known as TDP-43 proteinopathy, the mislocalization of TDP-43 from the cell nucleus and the formation of aggregates in the cytoplasm. Numerous mutations in the gene encoding TDP-43 have also been linked to familial cases of ALS (fALS) and cause TDP-43 proteinopathy. This study attempts to decipher how the molecular chaperone Hsp90 and its co-chaperones, Aha1, Sti1, and Cdc37, modulate …

Three Damn Letters, Katherine Ammon

Honors Program Theses

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal disease that destroys a patient's motor neurons. In the play Three Damn Letters, a sarcastic woman must accept her own ALS diagnosis while also balancing her relationships with her father, husband, and son. This seriocomedic play explores themes of family roles, disability, love, and death.

Resources And Well-Being In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients And Caregivers: A Longitudinal, Dyadic Analysis, Suzanne C. Segerstrom

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as the end of life approaches, resources that provide immediate, hedonic reward become more important and resources that provide delayed rewards become less important. The present study tested the theory in the context of marital dyads in which one partner had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal disease. ALS patients (N = 102) and their spouses (N = 100) reported their loneliness, financial worry, and psychological health every 3 months for up to 18 months. In multilevel dyadic models, patients and spouses had similar levels of financial worry and loneliness, but spouses’ …

Meta Analysis Of Human Alzgene Database: Benefits And Limitations Of Using C. Elegans For The Study Of Alzheimer's Disease And Co-Morbid Conditions, Behrad Vahdati Nia, Christine Kang, Michelle G. Tran, Deborah Lee, Shin Murakami

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

Human genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and linkage studies have identified 695 genes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the vast majority of which are associated with late-onset AD. Although orthologs of these AD genes have been studied in several model species, orthologs in the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, remain incompletely identified, with orthologs to only 17 AD-related genes identified in the C. elegans database, WormBase. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive search for additional C. elegans orthologs of AD genes using well-established programs, including OrthoList, which utilizes four ontology prediction programs. We also validated 680 of the AD genes as a unique …