Thus, TRO19622 appears to be able to partly compensate for the multifactorial nature of the disease and is currently undergoing clinical trials

in ALS. Aberrant mitochondrial fragmentation and rounding up are observed in ALS [115,116]. A small molecule has been identified that regulates mitochondrial dynamics Cilomilast by interacting with Drp1 and inhibiting mitochondrial fission in vitro and in vivo[143]. It is possible that other approaches can be developed that will modulate mitochondrial fission and fusion, which can be used to block the mitochondrial fragmentation observed in ALS. Furthermore, drugs that modulate the intracellular calcium cycle might be beneficial in light of alterations in calcium handling in models of

ALS. It is appreciated that ALS is a complex and multifactorial disease, with multiple interacting pathogenic processes exacerbating the dysfunction and consequent degeneration of the motor neurone. A wealth of evidence has now implicated mitochondria as having a critical role in motor neurone degeneration, with perturbations including oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, apoptosis and aberrant trafficking of the organelle. As discussed, it is currently unclear whether this mitochondrial dysfunction is causal, contributory or a consequence of the motor neurone Stem Cell Compound Library cell assay degeneration. It is evident that upon initiation of mitochondrial dysfunction, the aforementioned pathogenic processes become self-sustaining and self-propagating, and diminish the potential efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Therefore, it is imperative to elucidate the pathogenic chain of events in ALS in order to effectively target therapeutic intervention to the primary and secondary events in the degenerative process. The notion of ALS as a multifactorial

disease BCKDHA necessitates the identification of therapeutic agents capable of targeting several pathways simultaneously. This may perhaps explain the relative clinical shortcomings of Riluzole, which only targets the glutamatergic pathway. Thus, in the future, the focus of the search for ALS therapeutic compounds is likely to be on identifying effective cocktails of therapeutic agents, or a novel compound targeting several of the pathogenic pathways known in ALS. Work in the authors’ laboratories is supported by grants from the MRC, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research, Motor Neurone Disease Association, BBSRC, NC3Rs, European Union under the seventh Framework Programme for RTD – Project MitoTarget, and Alzheimer’s Research Trust. “
“Angiomatous meningiomas are rare meningioma subtypes, which are characterized by abundant, well-formed vessels. We encountered two cases of newly diagnosed angiomatous meningiomas exhibiting tumor cells with brown pigments, which were histochemically proven to be iron.