Mapping toxic aging (senescent) cells in ALS brain and spinal cord
Official title: High Resolution Profiling of Senescent Cells in ALS Brain and Spinal Cord
Funded at St. Louis VA Medical Center · NIH-11213951 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks for stressed 'senescent' cells in brain and spinal cord tissue from people with ALS to learn how they might drive nerve damage.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | St. Louis VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (St. Louis, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | October 1, 2022 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX005717-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11213951 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be people with ALS (including veterans) who are willing to donate brain or spinal cord tissue to the VA biorepository after death.
✕Less likely to help
People without ALS or those unable or unwilling to donate tissue will not directly benefit from this tissue-based research.
What this research studies
I would be contributing information about how nerve cells and their neighbors respond to long-term stress in ALS. The team will use postmortem brain and spinal cord tissue from VA donors with and without TDP43 protein deposits. They will apply high-resolution GeoMx digital spatial profiling to pinpoint senescent cells and the harmful signals they release. The goal is to map where these cells are and how their secretions could promote ongoing tissue degeneration.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If confirmed, this work could reveal targets for therapies that remove or block harmful senescent cells to slow ALS progression.
How similar studies have gone: Other studies have found senescent cells in some neurodegenerative diseases, but applying high-resolution spatial profiling to map senescence in ALS is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
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St. Louis VA Medical Center
St. Louis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Orr, Miranda Ethel — St. Louis VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Orr, Miranda Ethel
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.