Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
After more than a decade of work, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center reported promising results in the lab and in animal models that could set the stage for developing a treatment for Alexander disease, a rare and usually fatal neurological disease with no known cure.
Waisman Center Director, Albee Messing, is collaborating with researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to better understand the progression of Alexander disease, a rare and fatal neurological disorder with no known cure. In a news story in the Belleville News-Democrat, Messing said that the study has already led scientists to several breakthroughs in …
Waisman Center Director, Albee Messing, VMD, PhD, was recently featured in the Know Your Madisonian column by David Wahlberg in the Wisconsin State Journal. To read the full interview, please click here. David Wahlberg, Wisconsin State Journal
Alexander disease (AxD) is a primary genetic disorder of astrocytes caused by dominant mutations in the gene encoding the intermediate filament (IF) protein GFAP. This disease is characterized by excessive accumulation of GFAP, known as Rosenthal fibers, within astrocytes.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have made a surprising and potentially crucial discovery about Alexander disease, a rare and fatal neurological disorder with no known cure. Using a mouse model for this disease, which in humans involves the destruction of white matter in the brain, a research team led by Albee Messing, director of …
May 18, 2016 Adityarup “Rup” Chakravorty, Waisman Communications Jelte Rijkaart is 10 years old, with a ready smile, dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. He enjoys hanging out with people, especially his brother Roan. He is passionate about clocks—he has a wall dedicated to cuckoo clocks—and enjoys all sorts of movies about clocks on …
TDP-43 mislocalization in a mouse model of Alexander disease Legend: Mislocalized TDP-43 colocalizes with GFAP in GfapR236H/+ mice. TDP-43 (red) and GFAP (green) immunolabeling in coronal brain sections from 10-week-old mice. Nuclei are labeled with DAPI (blue). In WT mice, TDP-43 is primarily localized to neuronal nuclei (pyramidal layer of the hippocampus shown here), with very little colocalization with GFAP. In GfapR236H/+mice, TDP-43 …
A fruit fly model of a rare, neurodegenerative disease is helping researchers trace the series of steps that lead to neuronal cell death. Damage to astrocytes - star-shaped cells found in the brain and spinal cord - is found in many neurodegenerative conditions, but it's been unclear exactly what role astrocyte dysfunction plays in the development of disease.
Albee Messing, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of comparative biosciences and an international leader in research on Alexander disease, has been named director of the Waisman Center, UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden announced April 14. Golden says Messing was selected for the position due to his unique combination of experience, …
Andy Pohl, PhD, is one of three scientists selected for the inaugural Morgridge Institute for Research Postdoctoral Fellows program designed to prepare promising young scientists for a changing research landscape. Pohl’s UW research mentor is Albee Messing, VMD, PhD, Waisman Center interim director. To read about Andy’s research project see: Andy Pohl: Bringing computing solutions to biological research
