RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Acute traumatic brain injury does not exacerbate ALS in the SOD1G93A rat model JF eneuro JO eneuro FD Society for Neuroscience SP ENEURO.0059-14.2015 DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0059-14.2015 A1 Gretchen M. Thomsen A1 Jean-Philippe Vit A1 Alexander Lamb A1 Genevieve Gowing A1 Oksana Shelest A1 Mor Alkaslasi A1 Eric J. Ley A1 Clive N. Svendsen YR 2015 UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2015/06/22/ENEURO.0059-14.2015.abstract AB Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease in which upper and lower motor neurons degenerate leading to muscle atrophy, paralysis and death within 3 to 5 years of onset. While a small percentage of ALS cases are genetically linked, the majority are sporadic with unknown origin. Currently, etiological links are associated with disease onset without mechanistic understanding. Of all the putative risk factors, however, head trauma has emerged as a consistent candidate for initiating the molecular cascades of ALS. Here, we test the hypothesis that traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the SOD1G93A transgenic rat model of ALS leads to early disease onset and shortened lifespan. We demonstrate, however, that a one-time acute focal injury caused by controlled cortical impact (CCI), does not affect disease onset or survival. Establishing the negligible involvement of a single acute focal brain injury in an ALS rat model increases the current understanding of the disease. Critically, untangling a single focal TBI from multiple mild injuries provides a rationale for scientists and physicians to increase focus on repeat injuries to hopefully pinpoint a contributing cause of ALS.Significance statement: Here we show that a one-time focal traumatic brain injury does not affect the disease time-course or survival in the SOD1G93A rat model of ALS. This is important, as head injury has emerged as a strong candidate for initiating the neurodegenerative processes in ALS patients. By showing a lack of effect of acute, moderate/severe focal traumatic brain injury in this genetically pre-disposed model, focus can now be made on other types of CNS injuries including mild repeat traumatic brain injury, or diffuse axonal injury to elucidate the involvement of trauma in the initiation of SOD1 mutation-based ALS.