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September 2, 2005 Friday 5:59 PM EST
LENGTH: 156 words
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 2

A signaling link in the fruit fly, found by the University of California San Francisco between neurons and muscles, might help treat Lou Gehrig's disease.

The findings are relevant for ongoing research in identifying causes and developing treatments for neuromuscular neurodegenerative diseases in humans, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- says study co-author Graeme Davis, associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco.

"If we want to make new drugs to treat neurodegenerative disease, then we have to identify new drug targets, and our study findings present that potential," he said. "This study is a significant step forward because we have shown that a signaling system composed of several genes is important for keeping the nervous system stable."

The findings are published in the journal Neuron.