inside ALS: the neurons behind the disease

Question 1

what is ALS

Answer 1

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- advances rapidly
- characterized by the loss of both upper ad lower motor neurons
- as the neurons stop sending signals the muscles weaken and paralysis happens, fatal

Question 2

how does it happen/ what does it do

Answer 2

• cause is unknown/from parents
• proteins that can’t get into nucleus stay in cytoplasm, they then multiply and create poorly folded proteins
• these poorly folded proteins aggregate and can become toxic to cells, they can damage mitochondria, cause oxidative stress, trigger breakdown in DNA
• ALS effects DNA process too
• cells transport machine also damaged
• ALS damaged neurons have difficulty transporting RNA proteins and visicals in
• if neural transmitters can’t be moved along the axon or released, the neuron can’t send messages to its target cells
• damage to cytoskeleton also means the axon can’t connect to muscle nearby and can no longer signal muscle to connect
• other cells can also be affected by ALS