Magdalena Kegel,  —

An analysis of previously published data suggests that neurofilaments in the blood and spinal fluid of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be used to assess disease progression and neurodegeneration in general. Levels of the factor also were higher in ALS patients than in patients with diseases mimicking ALS,…

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) would benefit from a new classification system, according to a group of researchers who highlighted the shortcomings of current systems for diagnosing the disease and allocating patients to subtypes of the condition. The opinion article, “Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: moving towards a new classification…

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who have progressed to a stage in which they’ve lost all voluntary movements, including the ability to communicate, have damage in numerous brain regions and isn’t limited to motor neurons. The study, “Clinicopathological characteristics of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis resulting in…

Researchers have identified a factor that prevents SOD1 — a protein causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a proportion of patients — from misfolding. The finding may advance the development of new drug therapies to stop or slow progression of the disease. The study, “Endogenous macrophage migration inhibitory factor reduces the…

By introducing a mutation in SOD1 — the protein believed to be responsible for a large part of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases — researchers managed to prevent the protein from clumping in a way that kills neurons. The study, “A Phosphomimetic Mutation Stabilizes SOD1 and Rescues…

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may have problems recognizing emotions in other people, even though they do not have other cognitive or behavioral problems. This inability is linked to microscopic changes in brain anatomy in regions linked to emotional processing, and resembles changes seen in patients with some types of…

Oxford BioDynamics is expanding its program for biomarker discovery with tests for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a clinical study in Malaysia, using its EpiSwitch technology. Researchers hope the new study, one of the largest ALS studies in Asia to date, will allow the development of a diagnostic test that…

Researchers at the Czech Academy of Sciences report that two mutations, previously linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), disrupt the ability of a calcium channel to transport calcium ions in nerve cells. The study, titled  “CACNA1H missense mutations associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis alterCav3.2 T-type calcium channel…

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have shed light on the mechanism by which a protein called TDP-43 kills nerve cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the related disease frontotemporal dementia. The protein causes neurodegeneration by getting stuck inside mitochondria, preventing these cellular powerhouses from providing energy…

A molecular discovery explaining how motor neuron disease develops draws additional parallels between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and another neurodegenerative disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The study, titled “Disruption of snRNP biogenesis factors Tgs1 and pICln induces phenotypes that mirror aspects of SMN-Gemins complex perturbation in Drosophila, providing new insights…