Join the Summer Match Challenge! All donations will be matched by the Clementz-Peterson Family Fund and an anonymous donor through July 15th, up to $100K. DONATE
Written by Ross Pelzel Edited by Dr. Larissa Nitschke New mouse studies show that mutant ataxin-2 causes dramatically more damage in older animals, revealing aging as an independent driver of disease severity In Afonso et al. 2022, the authors set out to understand how age influences the development of symptoms in spinocerebellar ataxia Read More…
Why do we need mouse models for disease research? Mouse models are crucial for understanding human diseases. They allow researchers to study how diseases develop and to test potential treatments in ways that wouldn’t be possible in humans. But how do scientists create mouse models that mimic specific diseases? One widely used Read More…
Written by Jacen Emerson Edited by Juan Mato Repurposed steroid hormone prevents cell death and motor symptoms in animal models of SCA3 A New Treatment and Biomarker for SCA3? Duarte-Silva and colleagues in Portugal recently investigated a drug called tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) in an effort to establish new treatments for Read More…
Written by Dr. Pragya Goel Edited by Dr. Lauren Moore Research in mice shows that a specific cell population in the cerebellum maintains balance as we age. Falls due to imbalance are common and dangerous in the elderly, but what exact changes in the brain are responsible for this is Read More…
Written by Yujia Li Edited by Priscila Pereira Sena The discovery of first links between mitochondrial dysfunction and SCA6 progression offers new insights for potential treatments. What drives the progression of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6)? While the exact mechanisms remain unclear, a study by Leung et al. suggests that Read More…
Written by Ross Pelzel Edited by Eder Xhako, PhD and Celeste Suart, PhD Alternative splicing produces different versions of proteins that arise from the same gene. In many neurodegenerative diseases, this process results in dysfunctional proteins that lead to disease symptoms. In Shorrock et al., the authors investigate how alternative Read More…
Written by Christina PengEdited by Larissa Nitschke, PhD Ever since the CAG expansion of the Ataxin-1 (ATXN1) gene has been identified as the cause of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), researchers have been on the hunt for the mechanism of the disease. How does this mutation cause SCA1? So far, Read More…
Disease-relevant research is often first conducted in animal models such as mice. This is done to investigate the underlying disease mechanisms and to test promising treatment strategies before moving into clinical studies. The parallel rod floor test is an assay to measure motor coordination difficulties in mice. In the case Read More…
Written by Rana Abdelhalim Edited by Dr. Spyros Petrakis Early BDNF delivery improved cognitive and motor deficits while ameliorating cerebellar pathology in a SCA1 mouse model. Cognitive impairment, slurred speech, difficulty with balance and walking— these are all symptoms of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). SCA1 is an inherited neurodegenerative Read More…
Escrito por Dr. Ambika TewariEditado por Dr. Larissa Nitschke Traduzido por Priscila Pereira Sena A atividade anormal das células nos núcleos cerebelares profundos e das células de Purkinje correlacionam com o início precoce de sintomas motores em um modelo de camundongo de SCA3 O cerebelo tem um papel estabelecido na Read More…
