The biochemical stratification of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

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Motor neuron disease (MND, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS) is a fatal, incurable disease that causes progressive muscle weakness. MND affects people in very different ways: weakness can begin first in any body part, sometimes people have symptoms affecting their thoughts and behaviours as well as weakness, and, although people with MND live on average for less than three years after weakness develops, some will live for over a decade. Why MND behaves in these different ways is not understood, but it is likely that it relates to differences in the way that the disease affects cells in the nervous system. These differences are probably a major reason why a large number of drug trials for MND have failed.My research will study the molecules (called proteins) that perform virtually all of the tasks in every cell of the body, including nerve cells. I will examine the different patterns of proteins found in the spinal fluid, reflecting changes in nervous system cells, of a large number of MND patients to try to understand what is happening in the nervous system to account for the differences in the ways that MND affects people. Through an advanced computer technique called machine learning, I aim to identify protein patterns that relate to different patterns of MND. Using these protein patterns, I hope that in five years' time this will enable drug trials to be more specifically tailored to a person's MND, improving the likelihood of drug trial success.