MND: one disease or many?
01 December 2007
In the opening presentation of the 18th International Symposium Canadian researcher Professor Mike Strong examined the evidence that indicates that ALS/MND may not be a single disorder.
Prof Strong presented his argument that ALS/MND is a combination of disorders by outlining how both anecdotal and evidence-based observations of patients with ALS/MND show that length of survival can be very different from one patient to another.
While age at symptom onset and the initial rate of progression impact on length of survival, there remains a significant group of people with ALS/MND who live for 10 years or more. Conversely, a more rapid form of ALS/MND exists where life expectancy is often less than a year.
"We are beginning to get a lot of clues that are helping researchers understand more about the role of genetics in ALS/MND. We now know that we have multiple genes that may be associated with the onset of ALS/MND" he explained.
In the last few years clinicians are also beginning to see evidence of cognitive dysfunction in people with ALS/MND. These symptoms can range from very subtle symptoms such as verbal fluency and memory loss, to dramatically different behavioral patterns. Strong says that as many as 50 per cent of people with MND/ALS may have developed cognitive symptoms.
Aswell as discussing the symptoms of cognitive change in ALS/MND, Prof Strong went on to give an overview of the latest research in this form of MND on a cellular level, using beautiful images of motor neurones as seen down a confocal (laser) microscope.
There is little doubt that ALS/MND is clinically and biologically a combination of disorders. A better understanding of the different forms of MND may help unravel the mystery of what causes the disease and how to treat it, Prof Strong concluded.
Prof Strong presented his argument that ALS/MND is a combination of disorders by outlining how both anecdotal and evidence-based observations of patients with ALS/MND show that length of survival can be very different from one patient to another.
While age at symptom onset and the initial rate of progression impact on length of survival, there remains a significant group of people with ALS/MND who live for 10 years or more. Conversely, a more rapid form of ALS/MND exists where life expectancy is often less than a year.
"We are beginning to get a lot of clues that are helping researchers understand more about the role of genetics in ALS/MND. We now know that we have multiple genes that may be associated with the onset of ALS/MND" he explained.
In the last few years clinicians are also beginning to see evidence of cognitive dysfunction in people with ALS/MND. These symptoms can range from very subtle symptoms such as verbal fluency and memory loss, to dramatically different behavioral patterns. Strong says that as many as 50 per cent of people with MND/ALS may have developed cognitive symptoms.
Aswell as discussing the symptoms of cognitive change in ALS/MND, Prof Strong went on to give an overview of the latest research in this form of MND on a cellular level, using beautiful images of motor neurones as seen down a confocal (laser) microscope.
There is little doubt that ALS/MND is clinically and biologically a combination of disorders. A better understanding of the different forms of MND may help unravel the mystery of what causes the disease and how to treat it, Prof Strong concluded.
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Notes to editors
The 18th International Symposium on ALS/MND is taking place in Toronto, Canada, between Saturday 1 and Monday 3 December. The event is organised by the UK-based Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association and hosted this year by the ALS Society of Canada.
- Session 1 - Opening Session (93kb - PDF)
