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Funded Grants

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Muscle-targeted therapy for ALS

Project Overview

In ALS, the disease is characterized by degeneration of motor neurons and an inability of the brain to signal the muscles to move, resulting in paralysis. Over the past decade, it has become clear that motor neurons are not the only cell type involved in the disease process and attempting to maintain proper functioning of cells that interact with motor neurons has become a strong target for therapy. Dr. Blair Leavitt, professor at the University of British Columbia aims to target muscle health as a potential treatment for ALS. It is known that a specific type of muscle called fast muscle fibers are more vulnerable to becoming paralyzed in ALS while those termed slow fibers are more spared. In this Discovery Grant, Dr. Leavitt will attempt to covert fast muscle fibers into slow fibers using specialized substances called antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to reduce the levels of a factor called MyoD in the muscle. He hypothesizes that this might slow down the progression of ALS in mice and if it does, current clinical trials using approved ASOs for other treatments in humans suggests that it would hold great potential to begin human ALS trials in the near future.

Principal Investigator

Blair Leavitt , University of British Columbia

Partners and Donors

ALS Society of Canada

Project Ongoing

Muscle-targeted therapy for ALS

  • Program Type

    Team grants

  • Area of research

    Neurodegeneration

  • Disease Area

    ALS

  • Competition

    ALS Canada - Brain Canada Discovery Grants

  • Province

    British Columbia

  • Start Date

    2015

  • Total Grant Amount

    $100,000

  • Health Canada Contribution

    $50,000

Contact Us

1200 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

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Territorial acknowledgement

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. We honour and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation. In our work, we focus our efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those that pertain to improving health for Indigenous Peoples and that focus on advancing our own learning on Indigenous issues.

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