title: Therapies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-beyond riluzole.
abstract: Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for the progressive motor neurone death evident in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. These include oxidative stress, neurofilament damage, mitochondrial abnormalities, glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity and altered responses to hypoxia. Current quests for therapies involve studying combinations of agents that act by various mechanisms and evaluating stem-cell therapies in model systems. High-throughput cell-culture screening systems are also being developed. The goal for therapy is to define agents that clearly prevent progression of, and it is hoped even reverse, motor neurone loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK. k.morrison@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019782:Riluzole / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019782:Riluzole