Said to be incurable, Charcot's disease is a serious and severely disabling degeneration of motor neurons, which leads to progressive paralysis of all the muscles in the body. However, Chinese researchers have just made an important discovery about one of its causes, as well as a treatment option.
Charcot's disease, what is it?
It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerves and muscles of the body, and is characterized by a progressive loss of sensitivity and muscle mass, as well as abnormal movements. Also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, it inevitably leads to complete paralysis in patients. When this pathology is contracted, generally by adults, life expectancy fluctuates between 3 and 5 years. In France, 1,200 deaths linked to Lou Gehrig's disease are recorded each year. Jean-Yves Lafesse, Frank Alamo, the famous theorist of the end of the world Stephen Hawking... Many personalities have been affected, shedding light on this little-known disease. Until now, the causes remained unknown in 90% of cases: Chinese researchers have just revealed on nature neuroscience a new cause.
These Chinese researchers make a major discovery
The origins of Lou Gehrig's disease are very mysterious, since it mainly affects healthy people and without familial genetic risk. In 10% of cases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is hereditary, the remaining 90% of cases appearing sporadically. It is these sporadic cases that concern the Chinese researchers from the Academy of Medical Sciences, who have been exploring the possibility of a genetic mutation for several years. They identified a genetic abnormality in the DNA of the mitochondria of patients, which disrupts cellular respiration and the functioning of motor neurons (the nerve cells that control muscles). Tests were carried out on healthy rats : the above genetic modification was introduced into the DNA of their mitochondria, which triggered symptoms similar to those of Lou Gehrig's disease. If this lead is confirmed in the future, then it will be possible to work on treatments targeting these dysfunctions in the mitochondria.
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