Marta Figueiredo, PhD, managing science editor —

Marta holds a biology degree, a master’s in evolutionary and developmental biology, and a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She was awarded a research scholarship and a PhD scholarship, and her research focused on the role of several signaling pathways in thymus and parathyroid glands embryonic development. She also previously worked as an assistant professor of an annual one-week embryology course at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine.

Articles by Marta Figueiredo

Radicava Slows Decline in ALS Patients With Poorer Lung Function

Early treatment with Radicava (edaravone) significantly slows disability progression compared with a six-month delay, including in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with poorer lung function, according to a new analysis of a Phase 3 clinical trial. Patients switching from a placebo to Radicava after their lung function fell to…

SBT-272, in Phase 1 Trial, Continues to Protect Motor Neurons in Mice

Stealth BioTherapeutics’ investigational therapy SBT-272 eased inflammation and upper motor neuron degeneration in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with the accumulation of toxic TDP-43 protein clumps, the company announced. Motor neurons are nerve cells that control voluntary movement and progressively die in people with ALS.

B12 Slows Functional Decline in Early-stage ALS, Data Show

Treatment with ultrahigh-dose methylcobalamin — the physiologically active form of vitamin B12 — effectively slowed functional decline in people with early-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and moderate progression, data from a small Phase 3 trial in Japan show. The findings confirm previous results from a Phase 2/3 trial and…

NU-9 Is Now AKV9, and Doing Well in Preclinical Studies

AKAVA Therapeutics’ experimental therapy AKV9, formerly NU-9, was superior to approved therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at improving the health of lab-grown upper motor neurons from a mouse model of the disease, a study shows. Upper motor neurons are one of the two types of specialized nerve cells that…

Starting Tofersen Early Slows ALS Progression Better: Trial Data

Early use of Biogen’s tofersen significantly slows disability progression, as well as a decline in lung function, muscle strength, and quality of life in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with mutations in the SOD1 gene, compared with a six-month delay in starting treatment. These benefits were accompanied by pronounced and sustained…