Can studying fruit flies help patients afflicted with the rare degenerative disease? According to a UCLA 2017 study, it seems like they can. The authors of the below article state, "UCLA researchers have discovered the molecular basis of, and identified potential treatment for, an incurable disease known as inclusion body myopathy, Paget disease with frontotemporal dementia, or IBMPFD. Using both genetically engineered fruit flies that have the fly equivalent of the disease gene as well as cells from people with IBMPFD, the researchers discovered how mutations carried by those with IBMPFD cause cellular damage. They also identified two compounds that are able to reverse the effects of IBMPFD-associated mutations in flies and human IBMPFD cells. The findings suggest potential strategies to combat IBMPFD and other degenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS."
For the full article: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-research-potential-treatment-for-muscle-and-brain-degenerative-disease
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