Laura Campisi, PhD

Research Interest

Metabolic Regulation

Category(ies) of Research

Basic

Translational

Descriptor of Research

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a complex neurodegenerative disease primarily affecting the motor system. In the past two decades, research has begun to explore the impact of non-motor symptoms and their influence on ALS prognosis. Notably, ALS patients often face significant weight loss alongside glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, elevated lipid levels, and fat redistribution—symptoms usually linked to obesity and higher cardiovascular risk. Interestingly, studies suggest that higher blood lipid levels correlate with a more favorable prognosis. For instance, using a mouse model of ALS4 (Campisi et al., Nature 2022), our findings indicate that a high-fat diet reduces motor neuron death. We are now interested in further investigating this mechanism using both mice and patient samples for future therapeutic approaches.

Division of Immunobiology

PubMed