Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

NMD Pharma has obtained $47 million in financing from new investors to continue developing treatments for ALS and other neuromuscular disorders. The Danish company is focusing on small-molecule inhibitors of a muscle-related chloride ion channel. It has created a screening platform to identify potential inhibitors of the ClC-1 ion channel.

The Israeli biotechnology company Kadimastem is planning a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of a cell therapy for ALS after regulators gave it the go-ahead. Kadimastem’s therapy, AstroRx, consists of cells called astrocytes that are injected into cerebrospinal fluid. The star-shaped cells, which surround nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, are derived…

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) show higher rates of sleep apnea that is often accompanied by nocturnal hypoventilation, according to a retrospective study. Researchers also found that a method called transcutaneous capnography is able to reliably detect nocturnal hypoventilation, or insufficient breathing, in ALS patients. The…

Difficulty sharing vast amounts of information — the so-called big data — can slow the pace of scientific advancement, experts say. A University of Washington team has come up with a way to help neuroscience researchers share huge swaths of MRI information about ALS and similar disorders. The information deals…

Researchers have identified genes that promote amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), using the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9. The findings represent not only another piece of information to understand the molecular mechanisms triggering ALS, but also support the newly identified genes as potential targets for future therapeutics. The study “CRISPR–Cas9 screens in human cells…

Genervon Biopharmaceuticals says its efforts to develop treatments for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases continue to focus on a factor that regulates stem cells’ evolution into nerve cells. It continues working on Phase 3 clinical trial plans, it added. The company outlined its treatment-development strategy at the…

A Phase 2/3 clinical trial showed that arimoclomol has the potential to slow ALS patients’ functional decline, according its maker, CytRx Corporation. Arimocolomal did better than a placebo at slowing the decline in patients with a rapidly worsening disease, although the differences were not statistically significant, researchers said. It was also…

Interleukin 4 reduces the severity of clinical symptoms during the early phase of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but has no effect in halting the death of motor neuron cells as ALS progresses, an Italian mouse study shows. The study, “Interleukin 4 modulates microglia homeostasis and attenuates the early slowly…

Arizona State University will soon launch a new biomanufacturing platform to grow human neurons in vitro to develop and test new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The effort includes the development of several types of neurons on a large scale to test…

A traffic jam inside nerve cells is a feature of most forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, a study shows. It suggests that easing the jam is a potential strategy for treating ALS. Therapies to do this are moving into clinical trials, the researchers said. The study, “…