Finally, from Christos, a study linking UK biobank data with Defra data on longitudinal, high-resolution air pollution exposure to assess the association of air pollution with #ALS risk. www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/...

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Incident Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis | Neurology

Background and ObjectivesAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a complex etiology. Although a range of genetic and lifestyle factors have been implicated, the potenti...

neurology.org

Moving on to a study led by Emily on a TDP-43 M337V mouse embryonic stem cell-derived motor neuron model of ALS. These neurons exhibited impaired bi-directional axonal transport and reduced basal glycolysis, but occurring without evidence of TDP-43 mislocalisation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mutant TDP-43 drives impairments in axonal transport and glycolysis in a mouse stem-cell-derived motor neuron model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - Cell Death & Disease

Cell Death & Disease - Mutant TDP-43 drives impairments in axonal transport and glycolysis in a mouse stem-cell-derived motor neuron model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

nature.com

Next, a methods paper led by @lizziedellar.bsky.social, demonstrating the utility of tetraspanin immunocapture for enriching extracellular vesicles #EVs from small volumes of cerebrospinal fluid for biomarker discovery. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Tetraspanin-based immunocapture for high-depth proteomic profiling of extracellular vesicles from cerebrospinal fluid for biomarker discovery - Clinical Proteomics

Background Due to its proximity to cells of the central nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an important source of novel biomarkers for neurological diseases. Membrane-bound extracellular ves...

link.springer.com

A catch-up on recent group publications! First, a perspective on the state of the field on study of microglial dysfunction in C9orf72 #ALS and #FTD in iPSCs from @bvahsen.bsky.social together with @jeroenpasterkamp.bsky.social. journals.lww.com/nrronline/ci...

We are recruiting a Research Assistant! An exciting opportunity to work on subcellular mapping of dysregulation in FTD patient-derived neurons in the Dafinca lab. Apply here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRE456/r... (deadline 19th May)

Research Assistant in Subcellular Neurodegeneration at University of Oxford

Discover Research Assistant in Subcellular Neurodegeneration jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.

jobs.ac.uk

Final day at #alsmndsymp! Watch out for Yiran in the morning session on Fus #ALS

We also have a range of posters today, so please come and check them out this evening! #alsmndsymp

Day 2 at #alsmndsymp in sunny San Diego! Look out for Christos talking later today.

Team @mndoxford.bsky.social are excited to be here in San Diego for #alsmndsymp! We have a range of posters and talks so please come and chat to us! See below for today's talks and posters:

New paper from Katie & team: reduced beta bursting in motor cortex drives loss of connectivity between cortex & muscle in #ALS, highlighting a cerebral basis for disrupted motor control. This opens avenues for earlier diagnosis & new trial endpoints. #MND doi.org/10.1093/brai...

Reduced beta bursting underpins loss of corticomuscular coherence in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Yoganathan et al. found reduced connectivity between brain and muscle (corticomuscular coherence) in motor neuron disease patients using magnetoencephalogr

doi.org

New paper from Christos & team: In UK primary care data, higher LDL & total cholesterol linked with ↑ #ALS risk, higher creatinine linked with ↓ #FTD risk, and HbA1c showed a non-linear FTD association. #MND doi.org/10.1002/ana....

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia Have Distinct Prediagnostic Blood Biochemical Profiles

Objective Identifying modifiable factors influencing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) risk is important for prevention. Blood biomarkers, particularly cholestero...

doi.org

Thoughtful blog from Lee Millard @onein300.bsky.social discussing the role that drug repurposing can have in the development of treatments for #ALS #MND. onein300.com/2025/09/24/t...

Today’s novel drug is tomorrow’s repurposed drug?

I hope the slightly provocative little title caught your eye. This is my latest post in my The Devil is the Detail series. I try to sketch out the landscape of drug repurposing in our disease. My a…

onein300.com

Lee Millard@onein300.bsky.social · last yr.

My first post in a while on my blog on #als #mnd research. This one is on drug repurposing, including the ‘warts’ as well as the hopes. onein300.com/2025/09/24/t...

🚨Come and join us! Postdoc position here at @mndoxford.bsky.social, working on identifying the link between dysfunctional mitochondria and synapses in #ALS/ #FTD neurons by optogenetics and subcellular proteomics with @ruxandradaf.bsky.social. Check out the details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOO661/p...

Postdoctoral Research Scientist at University of Oxford

Recruiting now: Postdoctoral Research Scientist on jobs.ac.uk. Click for details and explore more academic job opportunities on the top job board

jobs.ac.uk

New paper from Emily and team, quantifying differences in aggregated proteins in cortex and spinal cord in #ALS, #PD and #AD. In #ALS, spinal cord and cortex aggregates are enriched in proteins encoded by #ALS genes. #MND Check it out here: actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

TDP-43 pathology is associated with divergent protein profiles in ALS brain and spinal cord - Acta Neuropathologica Communications

Neuronal and glial cytoplasmic inclusions positive for TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) are the defining pathological hallmark of 97% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 50% of frontotempora...

actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com

New paper from Michael and team: people with #ALS showed more widespread brain activity during a simple hand grip task than healthy controls, despite similar grip strength. This 'compensated' brain activity pattern may help track disease progression. #MND

Gamma activation spread reflects disease activity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A non-invasive measure of cerebral motor system dysfunction would be valuable as a biomarker in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Task-based magnet…

sciencedirect.com

New paper out from Jiali and team. Using @ukbiobank.bsky.social data, we quantified how #ALS and #dementia incidence increase with age in carriers of #C9orf72 expansion, and demonstrated that a common #UNC13A variant nearly doubles disease risk. #ALS #MND #FTD. academic.oup.com/brain/articl...

Neurodegenerative disease in C9orf72 repeat expansion carriers: population risk and effect of UNC13A

The C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion is associated with ALS and certain forms of dementia, though its exact penetrance remains unclear. In a UK popu

academic.oup.com

Beatrix from the team is attending #MNDEnCouRage this week, getting to know some of the community and sharing her work #MND #ALS #ECR @mndresearch.bsky.social

Here, Dr Ruxandra Dafinca who is funded by the Foundation through our 2024 Catalyst Award, gives an insight on her research and its potential impact for identifying new therapeutic targets for MND 🔬 @ruxandradaf.bsky.social @mndoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk

Severe weight loss is a major problem for people living with #ALS. New research led by David helps predict who is at highest risk. Check it out below: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A Validated Model to Predict Severe Weight Loss in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Severe weight loss in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is common, multifactorial, and associated with shortened survival. Using longitudinal weight data from over 6000 patients with ALS across thr...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Ahead of #GlobalMNDAwarenessDay tomorrow, we're pleased to announce that The Alan Davidson Foundation has renewed its generous commitment to motor neuron disease (MND) research at Oxford by supporting the ACORN study for a further three years. Read more: tinyurl.com/4x5jnb5v

Alan Davidson Foundation renews funding for ground-breaking motor neuron disease research at Oxford

As part of its renewed commitment, the Alan Davidson Foundation will continue to fund a full-time project manager to facilitate the ongoing coordination and growth of the ACORN study. The foundation i...

tinyurl.com

Great talk by Beatrix from the group on targeted long-read sequencing of the C9orf72 HRE at the ARUK Thames Valley Network Research Day in Oxford today #ALS #FTD

New review led by Lizzie @lizziedellar.bsky.social from the group on the role of extracellular vesicles in the pathogenesis of TDP-43 proteinopathies and their potential as biomarkers. Check it out below: molecularneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Extracellular vesicles in TDP-43 proteinopathies: pathogenesis and biomarker potential - Molecular Neurodegeneration

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed nanoparticles released by most cell types, and from multiple sub-cellular compartments. They carry a range of cargo biomolecules, including protein a...

molecularneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com

Thoughts and reflections from Andrew Douglas on the complexity of #ATXN2 in #ALS in a commentary on a recent article about penetrance and pleiotropy in ATXN2-related ALS www.nature.com/articles/s41431-025-01882-1

Penetrance and pleiotropy in ATXN2-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - European Journal of Human Genetics

European Journal of Human Genetics - Penetrance and pleiotropy in ATXN2-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

nature.com

Congratulations to Björn @bvahsen.bsky.social for winning the Young Investigator Award at #ENCALS2025 for his work on #microglia in #ALS/#MND!🌟

Congratulations to Michael for winning a rapid fire presentation award at #ENCALS2025 last week for his talk on "Divergence of cortical neurophysiology in ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders from healthy ageing". 🌟

Final day at #ENCALS2025: watch out for Björn's @bvahsen.bsky.social talk this afternoon!

Also watch out for Michael’s rapid fire talk in the morning session!

Looking forward to day 2 of #ENCALS2025. Check below for posters from our team this evening!

Join the Hallegger Lab in Oxford! A post-doc position available to develop neuronal cell models to characterise how TDP-43 aggregation leads to its dysfunction in MND. Highly collaborative project funded by My Name'5 Doddie Foundation @MNDoddie5 Please repost and share widely!

And one more poster at #ENCALS2025 - make sure to check out Alicia's poster later today!