Genetic ALS: Discussing a difficult diagnosis

My late husband was adamant I take care of myself

While my late husband, Jeff, was living with ALS, a close family member was diagnosed with colon cancer and required immediate surgery. Fortunately, the cancer had been caught early, and the surgery was successful in eliminating it without complications. The unexpected cancer diagnosis meant that we now had a…

Setting an intention each day is part of my ALS tool kit

Come on, do we really need another reminder to practice self-care? I think we do. I know I need it, especially because I have ALS and am living in a world that’s barreling down a bumpy track. The type of self-care I’m currently focusing on isn’t a self-indulgent three-day vacation,…

New study IDs better method to detect gene defects in sporadic ALS

Long-read DNA sequencing is a more accurate method than short-read sequencing for detecting certain defects in genes associated with an increased risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a new study suggests. A relatively new technique, long-read sequencing can capture data on thousands to hundreds of thousands of nucleotides,…

New study may explain why ALS therapy BIIB078 didn’t work

The investigational antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy BIIB078 may have failed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinical trials because it wasn’t adequately reversing key disease processes in the brain and spinal cord. Analyses of body fluids and tissue from participants showed that, while BIIB078 reached key tissues, it couldn’t entirely…

While living with ALS, panic leads to stress again and again

A friend who stopped by for a visit last weekend asked my husband, Todd, “Anything new?” “Not really,” he said. “So no more choking incidents?” she asked. “There have been choking incidents, and Kristin has to clear my lungs every couple days,” he replied, “but you asked if there was…