Kara Elam,  —

Articles by Kara Elam

FDA Approves Xeomin for Excessive Drooling, Common in ALS Patients

Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic sialorrhea, or excessive drooling, a common condition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Merz Neurosciences, a division of Merz North America, recently announced that its supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for Xeomin was…

Neuroimaging Techniques Confirm Neuropathological Findings that Contribute to Degeneration in ALS

Advanced neuroimaging techniques and neuropsychological evaluations of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) recently confirmed the existence of a unique micro-structural brain degeneration pattern that contributes to memory loss, according to a study conducted by an international research team that included a group from Baylor College of Medicine. The report, “…

ALS Phase 3 Study of Masitinib Reaches Target Patient Enrollment

AB Science recently announced it has completed its targeted enrollment of 381 patients for an ongoing Phase 3 study evaluating masitinib in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Masitinib is an orally administered tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to target important immune system cells known as mast cells and macrophages. Its mechanism of action…

ALS Neuroscience Focus Turns to Promising RNA Research

This week the ALS Association, whose mission is to lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy, has highlighted important research from the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society For Neuroscience, an event that took place in Chicago, Oct. 17–21. This meeting is the premiere venue…

Study Findings Reveal Key Genetic Piece of ALS And Dementia Puzzle

University of Toronto (UT) researchers have uncovered the main genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a discovery that will lead to the development of new efficacious treatments. The work entitled, “Isoform-specific antibodies reveal distinct subcellular localizations of C9orf72 in amyotrophic lateral…

Protein Misfolding and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in ALS Pathogenesis

Researchers from the University of Milan (UM), Italy, have recently released findings from their scientific literature review, in an effort to uncover the causes of cellular pathologies that are the hallmark of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The findings entitled, “SOD1 misplacing and mitochondrial dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathogenesis“, published…

Study Findings May Lead To Future Genetic Test For ALS

Researchers from the University of Toronto (UT) have recently discovered a potential way to detect a genetic predisposition for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), before the debilitating symptoms of the disease begin. The study, entitled, “Jump from Pre-mutation to Pathologic Expansion in C9orf72,” was published in the…

Kadimastem To Initiate a Human Clinical Trial for Promising ALS Therapy

This week, Kadimastem, an innovative Israeli biotechnology company focused on the industrial development and commercialization of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based therapeutic solutions for the neurodegenerative diseases Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), announced that it plans to begin human trials using its stem-cell technology to…