Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis News and Research

RSS

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

Viewpoints: Medicare's future finances; 'promising deal' on VA; Texas 'war on abortion'

Medicare got some good news Monday, when the trustees who oversee its finances announced that the fund that pays for hospital care will remain solvent until 2030, four years longer than its forecast from last year.

30 Jul 2014

New editorial calls for sports authorities to consider long-term effects of cerebral concussion

An editorial published today in The Lancet Neurology calls for sports authorities to take into consideration the long term neurological problems that repeated concussions can cause.

15 Jul 2014

Persons with reduced levels of TREM2 protein at greater risk for neurodegenerative diseases

Persons with reduced levels of the TREM2 protein could be at greater risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or frontotemporal dementia, according to an international study which included the participation of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute.

3 Jul 2014

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in veterans: an interview with Milan Michael Karol, The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

30 Jun 2014

Increasing clearance of ALS misfolded protein from neurons improves their survival

In work supported by The ALS Association, researchers have shown that increasing the clearance of misfolded protein from neurons improves their survival. The study was published today in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

30 Jun 2014

ALS is aggravated by over-activity of HDAC6 enzyme, shows study

Scientists at VIB and KU Leuven have demonstrated in fruit-flies that over-activity of the enzyme HDAC6 in the nerve ends exacerbates the symptoms of the neurodegenerative condition Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS / Lou Gehrig's Disease). Inhibition of this enzyme could offer a protective effect against ALS.

27 Jun 2014

Research finding could open new opportunities for treating Huntington's disease

Researchers believe they have learned how mutations in the gene that causes Huntington's disease kill brain cells, a finding that could open new opportunities for treating the fatal disorder. Scientists first linked the gene to the inherited disease more than 20 years ago

24 Jun 2014

Alternative disposal process in optic nerve cells has implications for neurodegenerative diseases

Biologists have long considered cells to function like self-cleaning ovens, chewing up and recycling their own worn out parts as needed.

20 Jun 2014

Neurobiologist Thomas Jessell to be honored with 2014 Gruber Neuroscience Prize

Thomas Jessell, PhD, the Claire Tow Professor of Motor Neuron Disorders in the Departments of Neuroscience and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University, is the recipient of the 2014 Neuroscience Prize of The Gruber Foundation.

4 Jun 2014