Within a cell, a protein must fold into the appropriate 3D shape in order to perform its intended function. When a protein does not fold into correct shape the outcome can be harmful to cells. Prion-like proteins are especially dangerous because they can cause other normally folded proteins to adopt an abnormal shape creating a domino effect of toxic protein misfolding that spreads throughout the nervous system.
Many years ago Dr. Neil Cashman hypothesized that ALS may be caused by the misfolding of prion-like proteins. In this webinar, Dr. Cashman describes data that support this hypothesis as well as new drugs that may be able to stop the domino-like protein misfolding thought to be a problem in ALS.