Physiology Seminar: Dr. Richard Robitaille, "The neuromuscular junction as a therapeutic target and source of biomarkers in ALS"

My laboratory focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying denervation and instability at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) in ALS. NMJ denervation is a ubiquitous and precocious event in ALS. Our approach is based on the non-cell autonomy of the disease whereby glial cells play critical roles at different stages of the disease. Using multi-pronged physiological, morphological, and cellular approaches, we observed that alterations of NMJs are very precocious.