Carmen M. Fernandez-Martos

Carmen M. Fernández-Martos
Universidad San Pablo-CEU, Madrid
Project Leader

A potential metabolic-targeted therapeutic for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Leptin (METABOLEP).

• Victoria Cano
  CEU-Universidad San Pablo, Madrid

• Jemeen Sreedharan
  King’s College London, London

• Anna King
  Wicking Dementia Centre, University of Tasmania, Tasmania (Australia)

There is growing interest in the role of lifestyle factors in modifying the onset of neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS. While the cause of ALS is incompletely understood, studies have shown that ALS develops as a result of multiple factors, including metabolic alterations. Epidemiological studies suggest obesity confers a survival advantage in ALS and diets rich in saturated fat and sugar, similar in composition to the most popular diet in industrialized Western societies, can be an effective therapy to slow the progression of the disease and prolong life for patients with ALS. Importantly, obesity affects a hormone called leptin, and clinical studies support the concept that it is strongly related with ALS risk. However, we need better knowledge about whether leptin could have an effect on ALS risk per se or whether risk is associated with fat mass and weight. This will allow us to better determine targets for therapeutic intervention.

Dr. Fernandez-Martos is a doctor in Chemistry, specialized in Biomedicine. She was recruited by the University of Tasmania (2013-2016) in Australia, to work at the prestigious Wicking Centre. Within this institution, she led and collaborated in numerous projects focused on different multidisciplinary areas of expertise in AD, FTD, and ALS. Nevertheless, she started her independent work, as PI, examining the influence of leptin metabolic dysfunction in AD. Through success of several international funding applications to support her research, she discovered leptin as a promising neuroprotective drug for AD. As a result of these merits, in 2016 she received a prestigious Seal of Excellence (European Commission) which allowed her return to Spain in 2017. In 2018, she was awarded a highly competitive project to develop a pioneer research line in Castilla La Mancha focusing on determine the implications of leptin alterations in the pathogenesis of ALS. Then, she was awarded a prestigious Biomedicine research grant from ”la Caixa”, establishing her independent laboratory in 2020, sustaining her research group through obtaining competitive funding. She has several fellowships and awards, and 2 patents. (For more information about her profile, click here, here and here).

Growing evidence in the field supports a strong metabolic component in ALS disease. It has been observed that patients with a higher body mass index experience a less aggressive, and slower clinical course of the disease. A recent epidemiological study has determined how increasing leptin concentrations were associated with longer survival of ALS patients. However, very little is known about the direct influence of leptin in altering energy metabolism in ALS, as it has thus far been correlated with the protection exerted by increased fat mass stores. Our research aims to determine whether regulating leptin levels reduces damage in ALS.

Grupo de investigación de alteraciones metabólicas asociadas a patologías neurodegenerativas (MetBrain)
Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities
Grupo investigación MetBrain. Edificio B, laboratorio 115
Urbanización Monteprincipe, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, España

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @cmfdezmartos