Scientists report explanation for protein clumps in brain cells of patients with ALS

Autopsies of nearly every patient with the lethal neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and many with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), show pathologists telltale clumps of a protein called TDP-43. Now, working with mouse and human cells, researchers report they have discovered the normal role of TDP-43 in cells and why its abnormal accumulation may cause disease.