Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0002736 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
 19,048 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neutral protease activity was significantly elevated in the cerebro-spinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in exacerbation and in the acute phase of acute viral meningoencephalitis (AME) compared with that of MS in remission, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or psychosomatic disease. Since in each relapse of MS, protease activity was higher in exacerbation than in remission, this activity may be one good marker of disease activity in MS. One hundred micro molar of FOY305, synthetic protease inhibitor, inhibited in vitro increased neutral protease activity in MS in exacerbation, which suggests the possibility of a clinical application of this protease inhibitor for MS.
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PMID:Neutral protease in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. 330 79

We report a case of a rapidly progressive, fatal non-inflammatory demyelinating disease, distinct from multiple sclerosis and lysosomal disorders, in a patient with progressive dementia. Electron microscopy of stereotactic brain biopsy samples revealed the presence in neurons of sinuous, double-walled cylindrical membranous structures within the cisterns of the endoplasmic reticulum. These structures were 75-80 nm in overall diameter, up to 1.5 mm long and had a 40- to 45-nm diameter core. The possibility that they might be viruses of the Filoviridae or Paramyxoviridae families was considered, but the inclusions differed in key morphological aspects from members of both virus families and there were no supporting clinical or pathological data. Neither was it possible to assign the structures to any other known virus family on the basis of their morphology. Such inclusions have been the subject of only three published reports over the past 20 years. Evidence suggests that they may be confined to human central nervous system neurons, but occur in unrelated disorders (Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, meningoencephalitis, low-pressure hydrocephalus, demyelination). The possibility that they are formed in certain neurons by an abnormal internal budding process, as a response to a variety of pathological insults, is considered most likely, although an infectious origin (such as an unrecognised virus with variable clinical effect) cannot be ruled out.
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PMID:Large, virus-like sinuous tubules in the endoplasmic reticulum of human neurons: report from a case of encephalopathy and brief critical review. 887 Aug 32

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and its specific inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by zymography in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In contrast to patients with inflammatory diseases, MMP-9 levels were not elevated in CSF of ALS patients. In serum, however, compared to healthy donors, MMP-9 was significantly (p = 0.0003) increased up to levels as high as those of viral meningoencephalitis (VM) or bacterial meningitis (BM) patients. MMP-9 levels remained elevated during long-term observation of ALS patients. In the absence of an inflammatory response, the results indicate that the increase of MMP-9 in serum of ALS patients might be caused by upregulation of MMP-9 in denervated muscles or in degenerating peripheral nerves following motor neurone loss.
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PMID:Matrix metalloproteinase-9 is elevated in serum of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 1109 90

In 1983, reports of antibodies in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) to an as-yet uncharacterized infectious agent associated with meningoencephalitis in horses and sheep led to molecular cloning of the genome of a novel, negative-stranded neurotropic virus, Borna disease virus (BDV). This advance has enabled the development of new diagnostic assays, including in situ hybridization, PCR and serology based on recombinant proteins. Since these assays were first implemented in 1990, more than 80 studies have reported an association between BDV and a wide range of human illnesses that include MDD, bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SZ), anxiety disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, dementia and glioblastoma multiforme. However, to date there has been no blinded case-control study of the epidemiology of BDV infection. Here, in a United States-based, multi-center, yoked case-control study with standardized methods for clinical assessment and blinded serological and molecular analysis, we report the absence of association of psychiatric illness with antibodies to BDV or with BDV nucleic acids in serially collected serum and white blood cell samples from 396 subjects, a study population comprised of 198 matched pairs of patients and healthy controls (52 SZ/control pairs, 66 BD/control pairs and 80 MDD/control pairs). Our results argue strongly against a role for BDV in the pathogenesis of these psychiatric disorders.
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PMID:Absence of evidence for bornavirus infection in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. 2231 May 59

Traditionally neurological diseases have been classified, on the basis of their pathogenesis, into vascular, degenerative, inflammatory and traumatic diseases. Examples of the main inflammatory neurological diseases include multiple sclerosis, which is characterized by an immune-mediated response against myelin proteins, and meningoencephalitis, where the inflammatory response is triggered by infectious agents. However, recent evidence suggests a potential role of inflammatory mechanisms also in neurological conditions not usually categorized as inflammatory, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington' disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke and traumatic brain injuries. The activation of glial cells and of complement-mediated pathways, the synthesis of inflammation mediators, and the recruitment of leukocytes are the key elements of secondary inflammatory injury following a wide spectrum of primary brain injuries. A better understanding of the role that inflammatory processes play in the natural history of diseases is essential in order to identify potential therapeutic targets and to develop integrated pharmacological approaches acting at different levels and stages of the diseases.
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PMID:The Role of Inflammation in Neurological Disorders. 2958 34