Dr. Neil Cashman, Academic Director, ALS Centre at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre; Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding Diseases at UBC; and Senior Investigator, Centre for Brain Research at UBC.
Photo credit: Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
Dr. Neil Cashman, one of the world’s renowned experts in brain and spinal cord degenerative diseases, is leading revolutionary research into how neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is transmitted from cell to cell. Understanding how ALS spreads through the body is the first step in developing treatments that block it. There is no effective treatment for this fatal disease that involves motor neurons degenerating and dying such that in later stages, many are left paralyzed, unable to swallow or breathe on their own.
The Cashman laboratory discovered that toxic misfolded proteins play a central role in the progression of ALS, specifically superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) . Under Dr. Cashman’s guidance, a team of some of the most talented researchers and scientists in North America are studying toxic SOD1 and its behaviour in order to block the degenerating cascade that takes place in the brain and spinal cord of ALS patients.
Right now there are 2,500 to 3,000 Canadians living with ALS and eighty per cent of people die within two to five years of diagnosis. Research is the key to uncovering effective treatments and eventually a cure for patients. With increased awareness and community support, a future without ALS is closer in reach.
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Help Dr. Neil Cashman and his research team find innovative treatments for ALS.
