Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) News and Research

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Research paves way for improving efficacy of ALS treatement

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily kills motor neurons, leading to paralysis and death 2 to 5 years from diagnosis. Currently ALS has no cure. Despite promising early-stage research, the majority of drugs in development for ALS have failed. Now researchers have uncovered a possible explanation.

23 Nov 2014

Scientists uncover small set of genes critical in aging and neurodegenerative disease

Aging is the most significant and universal risk factor for developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. This risk increases disproportionately with age, but no one really knows why.

4 Nov 2014

Digoxin drug may be adaptable for ALS treatment, study suggests

Digoxin, a medication used in the treatment of heart failure, may be adaptable for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive, paralyzing disease, suggests new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

27 Oct 2014

Cornell University chemists uncover new insight into the underlying causes of ALS

Using a technique that illuminates subtle changes in individual proteins, chemistry researchers at Cornell University have uncovered new insight into the underlying causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

27 Oct 2014

Scientists use innovative exome sequencing strategy to identify new gene associated with ALS

Using an innovative exome sequencing strategy, a team of international scientists led by John Landers, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has shown that TUBA4A, the gene encoding the Tubulin Alpha 4A protein, is associated with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

23 Oct 2014

Treeway, LACDR join forces to optimize clinical trial designs, data-analysis for ALS

Treeway and LACDR at the University of Leiden join forces and form a collaboration focused on the optimization of clinical trial designs and data-analysis for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) through the use of population disease progression models.

16 Oct 2014

Proteins linked to severe forms of ALS are less stable, suggests new study

A new study by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and other institutions suggests a cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

14 Oct 2014

FDA designates NurOwn as Fast Track product for ALS treatment

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated NurOwn as a Fast Track product for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease).

7 Oct 2014

Groundbreaking study tracks precise path of rabies to the central nervous system

Rabies causes acute inflammation of the brain, producing psychosis and violent aggression. The virus, which paralyzes the body's internal organs, is always deadly for those unable to obtain vaccines in time. Some 55,000 people die from rabies every year.

7 Oct 2014

Six research institutions awarded NIH grants to create database of human cellular responses

Building on a successful three-year pilot project, the National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $64 million to six research institutions to create a database of human cellular responses, the Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures.

15 Sep 2014

New class of compounds protect brain cells from traumatic brain injury

A new class of compounds has now been shown to protect brain cells from the type of damage caused by blast-mediated traumatic brain injury (TBI).

12 Sep 2014

Using iPS technology researchers develop new therapies for Parkinson's disease and ALS

Dresden. Dr. Jared Sterneckert is entering the research area "Neurodegenerative Diseases" of the DFG Research Center and Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden as a new junior group leader. Since 2006, he has led a team working at the "Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine" in Münster to develop models of Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

3 Sep 2014

Researchers find roving detection system for treating cancer, Parkinson's disease and ALS

Duke University researchers have found a "roving detection system" on the surface of cells that may point to new ways of treating diseases like cancer, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

26 Aug 2014

Number of Vets being referred to private doctors is rising, VA secretary says

Robert McDonald tells American Veterans national convention that his department is quickly moving to significantly increase the number of veterans referred to doctors outside the system. Also, the department announces that veterans with Lou Gehrig's Disease will be eligible for a government housing program.

15 Aug 2014

New therapeutic strategy to combat common genetic risk factor for ALS, FTD

A team of researchers at Mayo Clinic and The Scripps Research Institute in Florida have developed a new therapeutic strategy to combat the most common genetic risk factor for the neurodegenerative disorders amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

15 Aug 2014

Clinical trial to investigate safety of neural stem cell transplantation in patients with spinal cord injuries

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have launched a clinical trial to investigate the safety of neural stem cell transplantation in patients with chronic spinal cord injuries.

12 Aug 2014

ALS Association awards 21 new research grants to find cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The ALS Association announced today that it has awarded 21 new research grants totaling nearly $3.5 million to find treatments and a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The grants were awarded to scientists from laboratories located in nine different states in the United States as well as from the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Switzerland, Israel and Australia.

11 Aug 2014

Researchers take major step forward in developing real ALS treatments

A series of studies begun by Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists eight years ago has lead to a report published today that may be a major step forward in the quest to develop real treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

7 Aug 2014

Penn physiologist receives Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from NIH

Erika Holzbaur, PhD, a professor of Physiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health.

6 Aug 2014

Neuralstem doses final patient with NSI-566 stem cells in Phase II trial

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that the final patient was treated in its Phase II trial using NSI-566 spinal cord-derived neural stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

4 Aug 2014