Lorne Zinman

Research Synopsis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a devastating neurological disease that results in the degeneration of motor neurons leading to paralysis and death in most patients. There is no treatment to halt or reverse ALS and the specific cause remains unknown. Dr. Zinman’s research aims to characterize better the clinical, electrophysiological and pathological phenotypes and variants of the disease to find a treatment.

In collaboration with Drs. Janice Robertson, Ekaterina Rogaeva, Yana Yunusova and Julia Keith, the group continues to study the disease’s pathophysiology to discover novel therapeutic targets. Epidemiological research provides clues to the etiology and exacerbating factors of the disease. The team also leads and participates in multicentre clinical trials evaluating the most promising ALS therapeutics.

Research interests include conducting clinical trials and investigating the neurophysiological and epidemiological features of neuromuscular diseases such as myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and other immune-mediated neuropathies.