TY - JOUR T1 - Untangling neuroinflammation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 1303 LP - 1304 DO - 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321242 VL - 90 IS - 12 AU - Alexander Guy Thompson AU - Martin R Turner Y1 - 2019/12/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/90/12/1303.abstract N2 - A broad body of evidence supports both pathogenic and neuroprotective roles for inflammation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)1 but trials of several immunomodulatory drugs have not yielded a beneficial effect in an increasingly complex disorder with multiple upstream cellular causes.2 There has been interest in proteins involved in the microglial response as potential biomarkers for well over a decade.3 4 Recently this has focused on a group of three chitinase proteins, thought to be macrophage-derived, identified in proteomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) taken from ALS patients.5 6 Chitinases have also been studied the pathologically related disorder frontotemporal dementia (FTD).7 8 Although chitin is not produced by mammals, it is suggested that chitinases might act on N-acetylglucosamine-containing extracellular matrix polymers, such as hyaluronan or keratan sulfate, … ER -