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A discovery by Jean-Pierre Julien among Québec Science’s top ten of 2019

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The development of a promising therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis impressed the jury of Québec Science Québec Science magazine, composed of a dozen researchers and science journalists.

 

 

You can vote today to make this discovery the public’s choice:  https://www.quebecscience.qc.ca/decouverte2019/

 

 

 

 

Professor Julien’s award-winning discovery is a new therapy that addresses the major manifestation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and has been shown to be effective in mice. ALS is characterized by degeneration of the neurons that control muscle activity, leading to progressive weakening of the arms and legs followed by paralysis and, two to five years later, breathing problems that lead to death. There is no treatment for this disease, which strikes one adult in 1,000. Researchers under the direction of Professor Jean-Pierre Julien have developed an antibody that reduces the amount of aggregates of a protein overexpressed in the brains of ALS mice. The reduction in these aggregates has led to a significant improvement in the cognitive and motor performance of the affected animals. Details of this breakthrough were published in February in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

 

 

 

 

Learn more about this discovery here:

 

 

 

 

A new experimental therapy for ALS and fronto-temporal dementia

 

 

 

 

See original research article in Journal of Clinical Investigations:

 

 

 

 

Pozzi S, Thammisetty SS, Codron P, Rahimian R, Plourde KV, Soucy G, Bareil C, Phaneuf D, Kriz J, Gravel C, Julien JP. Viral-mediated delivery of antibody targeting TAR DNA-binding protein 43 mitigates associated neuropathology. J Clin Invest. 2019 Jan 22. pii: 123931. doi: 10.1172/JCI123931.

 

 

 

 

Read an article in  Le Fil de l’Université Laval (in French):

 

 

 

 

https://www.lefil.ulaval.ca/un-pas-vers-limmunotherapie-contre-la-sla/