On your back? Side? Face-down? Mice show how we sleep may trigger or protect our brain from diseases like ALS

Image: Unsplash/Lux Graves, CC BY

Reproduced from The Conversation 27 May 2022

by David Wright, Monash University

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is the most common form of motor neuron disease. People with ALS progressively lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movements, including the ability to speak, swallow and breathe.

There is no known cure. But recently, we studied mice and identified a new target in the fight against this devastating disease: the brain’s waste clearance system.

FightMND grant for detection of waste build-up in the brain

A/Prof David Wright using Monash's preclinical MRI scanner
at the Alfred site

Congratulations to Associate Professor David Wright on his FightMND grant, "The Glymphatic System: A novel biomarker of disease severity in MND". The project will receive $249,502 over a two year period.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) affects around 1 in 300 people. It has a rapid progression: one third of people with MND die within a year of diagnosis, and over half die within two years.