Novel extracellular vesicle and molecular biomarkers of environmental exposure and disease in ALS progression
- Lead PI: Beizhan Yan
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Unit Affiliation: Geochemistry, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
- September 2019 - September 2021
- Inactive
- North America ; New York City, NY
- Project Type: Research
DESCRIPTION: The study from the Columbia University Health Sciences will test new non-invasive ways for identifying possible toxic exposures to the brains of ALS patients. The study will explain which processes link exposures and progression of disease. The study will be the first to test whether extracellular vesicles from the central nervous system can be used as new biomarkers. These biomarkers will be measures of environmental exposures and disease progression in ALS. The researchers will test samples from persons with ALS for metals and pesticides. They will then match the exposure and patient specific transcriptomic signatures to ALS signaling pathways.