Hello twitter! In light of #GlobalMNDAwarenessDay we have set up a new account to showcase the exciting research from our #MND and #ALS research groups here at the University of Oxford. Give us a follow! 👋👍

Some people with MND also develop frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Dr Alex Thompson @MNDOxford is looking at toxic protein clumps found in MND and FTD to understand how these spread through brain cells and contribute to disease progression.

Find out more: mndassociation.org/research/our-r…

#DementiaActionWeek #FTD #MND

Finally, from Christos, a study linking UK biobank data with Defra data on longitudinal, high-resolution air pollution exposure to assess the association of air pollution with #ALS risk.

neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WN…

A study led by Emily on a TDP-43 M337V mouse embryonic stem cell-derived motor neuron model of ALS.
These neurons exhibited impaired bi-directional axonal transport and reduced basal glycolysis, but occurring without evidence of TDP-43 mislocalisation.

nature.com/articles/s4141…

Next, a methods paper led by @LizzieDellar demonstrating the utility of tetraspanin immunocapture for enriching extracellular vesicles #EVs from small volumes of cerebrospinal fluid for biomarker discovery.

link.springer.com/article/10.118…

A catch-up on recent group publications!

First, a perspective on the state of the field on study of microglial dysfunction in C9orf72 #ALS and #FTD in iPSCs from @BVahsen together with Jeroen Pasterkamp.

journals.lww.com/nrronline/cita…

We are recruiting a Research Assistant! An exciting opportunity to work on subcellular mapping of dysregulation in FTD patient-derived neurons in the Dafinca lab. Apply here: jobs.ac.uk/job/DRE456/res… (deadline 19th May)

Motor neurone disease: what does the science say? This episode features @jennagregory488 @aberdeenuni; @sarahezekiel @MND_NWLONDON; @DrBrianDickie @mndassoc; and Kevin Talbot @UniofOxford.

thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/naked…

Final day at #alsmndsymp! Watch out for Yiran in the morning session on Fus #ALS

We also have a range of posters today, so please come and check them out this evening! #alsmndsymp

Day 2 at #alsmndsymp in sunny San Diego! Look out for Christos talking later today.

Team @MNDOxford are excited to be here in San Diego for #alsmndsymp! We have a range of posters and talks so please come and chat to us! See below for today's talks and posters:

New paper from Katie & team: reduced beta bursting in motor cortex drives loss of connectivity between cortex & muscle in #ALS, highlighting a cerebral basis for disrupted motor control. This opens avenues for earlier diagnosis & new trial endpoints. #MND
doi.org/10.1093/brainc…

New paper from Christos & team: In UK primary care data, higher LDL & total cholesterol linked with ↑ #ALS risk, higher creatinine linked with ↓ #FTD risk, and HbA1c showed a non-linear FTD association. #MND

doi.org/10.1002/ana.78…

Thoughtful blog from Lee Millard @onein300 discussing the role that drug repurposing can have in the development of treatments for #ALS #MND.
onein300.com/2025/09/24/tod…

🚨Come and join us! Postdoc position here at @MNDOxford @NDCNOxford, working on identifying the link between dysfunctional mitochondria and synapses in #ALS/#FTD neurons by optogenetics and subcellular proteomics with @RDafinca. Check out the details here: jobs.ac.uk/job/DOO661/pos…

New paper from Emily and team, quantifying differences in aggregated proteins in cortex and spinal cord in #ALS, #PD and #AD. In #ALS, spinal cord and cortex aggregates are enriched in proteins encoded by #ALS genes. #MND Check it out here: doi.org/10.1186/s40478…

New paper from Michael and team: people with #ALS showed more widespread brain activity during a simple hand grip task than healthy controls, despite similar grip strength. This 'compensated' brain activity pattern may help track disease progression. #MND sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

New paper out from Jiali and team. Using @uk_biobank data, we quantified how #ALS and #dementia incidence increase with age in carriers of #C9orf72 expansion, and demonstrated that a common #UNC13A variant nearly doubles disease risk. #ALS #MND #FTD. academic.oup.com/brain/article/…

Beatrix from the team is attending #MNDEnCouRage this week, getting to know some of the community and sharing her work #MND #ALS #ECR @mndresearch

Here, Dr Ruxandra Dafinca who is funded by the Foundation through our 2024 Catalyst Award, gives an insight on her research and its potential impact for identifying new therapeutic targets for MND 🔬