What’s Next? Innovative Translational Markers Across the ALS-FTD Continuum

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About this Research Topic

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Background

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are considered part of a common clinical and neuropathological continuum with the hallmarks of both diseases being present within the same person in the so-called ALS-FTSD (frontotemporal spectrum disorder). Over the last decades, there has been a growing amount of research leading to a better characterization of the ALS-FTSD, considering both the common genetic, molecular, and neuropathological signatures, but also the great inter-individual heterogeneity in terms of clinical phenotypes, progression of disease, and disease course.

The role of biomarkers in the diagnosis and disease progression in ALS continues to improve, although to date, no specific markers for the definition or prediction of motor disability or cognitive/behavioral dysfunction have been validated. The current Strong criteria define the ALS-FTSD from a clinical and neuropsychological standpoint, but will clearly need in the near future the support of wet biomarkers (both on CSF and plasma) and translational approaches provided by neuroimaging and neurophysiology, at different levels of complexity. For this reason, many research efforts in this area are dedicated to the search for translational markers able to define this neurodegenerative spectrum better. The goal of this Research Topic is to collect the main innovations and discoveries in this area, with the aim that collecting together and sharing them can speed up the applicability of these findings.

This Research Topic will contribute to understanding the complex pathophysiological mechanisms and also further characterizing clinical phenotype, disease course, and progression across the ALS-FTSD, in order to elaborate a unifying, although complex, definition of this disorder. For this project, we seek submissions of several types of manuscripts:

- Original Research and Brief Research Reports that explore the main translational findings in terms of disease diagnostic and prognostic markers

- Systematic Reviews that discuss the main recent progresses in this field, and Mini Review, for the most updated Topic

- Case Reports and Case Series, to show clinical peculiarities in the spectrum ALS-FTSD

Keywords: Neuroscience, translational research, disease markers, disease treatment, disease prevention, prognosis, biomarkers, ALS-FTSD

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