Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) News and Research

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Antidepressant improves drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, rat study shows

NIH rat study suggests amitriptyline temporarily inhibits the blood-brain barrier, allowing drugs to enter the brain.

27 Apr 2017

Improvements to animal testing protocols could yield more useful clinical results

The use of animals in biomedical research has long been the focus of campaigns by animal rights activists. Two leading scientists writing in the European Journal of Internal Medicine give their expert view of the importance of animal testing to medical progress and present ways it could be further improved to yield more useful clinical results.

27 Apr 2017

SLU researchers make advances in understanding plaque-causing protein in neurological disorders

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry Yuna Ayala, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, and her research team made advances in understanding how a protein causes damaging plaques to build up in neurodegenerative illnesses like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a form of dementia called frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

19 Apr 2017

Targeted treatment slows progression of two degenerative brain diseases in mice

Scientists report a significant step toward combatting two degenerative brain diseases that chip away at an individual's ability to move, and think.

12 Apr 2017

Scientists discover potential role for 'jumping genes' in ALS

By inserting an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-linked human gene called TDP-43 into fruit flies, researchers at Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory discovered a potential role for 'transposons' in the disease.

24 Mar 2017

Researchers show shared genetic origin between ALS/MND and schizophrenia

Researchers have shown for the first time that Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and schizophrenia have a shared genetic origin, indicating that the causes of these diverse conditions are biologically linked.

24 Mar 2017

New research reveals surprising culprit involved in self-destruction of axons

In many neurodegenerative conditions — Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and peripheral neuropathy among them — an early defect is the loss of axons, the wiring of the nervous system.

24 Mar 2017

Study identifies urinary biomarker that may help monitor progression of ALS

A study in Neurology suggests that analyzing levels of the protein p75ECD in urine samples from people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may help monitor disease progression as well as determine the effectiveness of therapies.

22 Mar 2017

Scientists identify new toxic pathway for protein aggregates in ALS and FTLD

Led by professor Ludo Van Den Bosch, scientists from Belgium, the UK and the US have identified new processes that form protein "clumps" that are characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

17 Mar 2017

TSRI researchers develop new drug candidates to target prostate and triple negative breast cancers

Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have designed two new drug candidates to target prostate and triple negative breast cancers.

9 Mar 2017

Scientists discover how misfolded proteins can damage cells’ energy-producing powerhouses

Working with yeast and human cells, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered an unexpected route for cells to eliminate protein clumps that may sometimes be the molecular equivalent of throwing too much or the wrong trash into the garbage disposal.

3 Mar 2017

Researchers discover CTE in deceased patient's brain with no known history of head trauma

Researchers at Toronto Western Hospital's Canadian Concussion Centre have discovered the presence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain of a deceased patient with no known history of traumatic brain injury or concussion, the first known case of its kind.

2 Mar 2017

Duke researchers discover potential cause for ALS syndromes using mouse models

A team of researchers at Duke University Medical Center led by Dr. Paulo Ferreira and whose work was supported by the National Institutes of Health has found that derailing the transport of certain receptors that carry cargoes from and to the nucleus of motor neurons causes motor neuron disease in mice.

1 Mar 2017

Novel NMR spectroscopy platform holds potential to revolutionize drug development practices

Implementation of a new nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy platform will provide professors Nicolas Doucet and Steven LaPlante of Centre INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier with a powerful new tool for conducting an ambitious research program aimed at identifying new therapeutic molecules.

28 Feb 2017

New test could accelerate development of better treatments for Motor Neuron Disease

A cutting-edge test developed in South Australia has the potential to expedite the worldwide quest to develop better treatments, or even a cure, for the Motor Neuron Disease (MND).

24 Feb 2017

Mindfulness-based meditation program improves quality of life and well-being in ALS patients

An eight-week mindfulness-based meditation program led to improved quality of life and psychological well-being in clinical trial of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

23 Feb 2017

New method that detects NMD efficiency could help in treatment of many diseases

In cells, DNA is first converted to RNA, and RNA is next converted to proteins--a complicated process involving several other steps. Nonsense-mediated RNA decay is a processing pathway in cells that, like a broom, cleans up erroneous RNA to prevent its productive conversion into an aberrant protein, which could lead to disease.

17 Feb 2017

Children of parents affected with C9orf72 mutations more likely to have FTD and ALS at younger age

The most common genetic cause of the brain diseases frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a mutation in the C9orf72 gene.

14 Feb 2017

New technology enables “completely locked-in” patients to communicate

A brain─computer interface has enabled people with “locked-in” syndrome to communicate, according to trial results published in PLOS Biology. The device was able to decipher the thoughts of four patients who were unable to speak, move or blink and relay “yes” or “no” answers to basic questions.

2 Feb 2017

Synthetic molecule appears to reverse Alzheimer's-related neurological damage

Under ordinary circumstances, the protein tau contributes to the normal, healthy functioning of brain neurons. In some people, though, it collects into toxic tangles that damage brain cells.

25 Jan 2017

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) News and Research

Antidepressant improves drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, rat study shows

Improvements to animal testing protocols could yield more useful clinical results

SLU researchers make advances in understanding plaque-causing protein in neurological disorders

Targeted treatment slows progression of two degenerative brain diseases in mice

Scientists discover potential role for 'jumping genes' in ALS

Researchers show shared genetic origin between ALS/MND and schizophrenia

New research reveals surprising culprit involved in self-destruction of axons

Study identifies urinary biomarker that may help monitor progression of ALS

Scientists identify new toxic pathway for protein aggregates in ALS and FTLD

TSRI researchers develop new drug candidates to target prostate and triple negative breast cancers

Scientists discover how misfolded proteins can damage cells’ energy-producing powerhouses

Researchers discover CTE in deceased patient's brain with no known history of head trauma

Duke researchers discover potential cause for ALS syndromes using mouse models

Novel NMR spectroscopy platform holds potential to revolutionize drug development practices

New test could accelerate development of better treatments for Motor Neuron Disease

Mindfulness-based meditation program improves quality of life and well-being in ALS patients

New method that detects NMD efficiency could help in treatment of many diseases

Children of parents affected with C9orf72 mutations more likely to have FTD and ALS at younger age

New technology enables “completely locked-in” patients to communicate

Synthetic molecule appears to reverse Alzheimer's-related neurological damage

Human iPSCs: A Full Guide to Advanced in Vitro Models and Applications eBook

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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