Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

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, “…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to the American CryoStem Corporation of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, for marketing Atcell, the company’s adipose-derived stem cell product, without FDA approval. In its warning letter, the FDA noted “significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice requirements, including some…

Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada are enrolling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients for a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the potential therapeutics effects of a well-established antipsychotic drug called Orap (pimozide). The research team, led by Dr. Lawrence Korngut, associate professor at the…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics released new data on potential biomarkers from its Phase 2 trial investigating NurOwn, the company’s cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), at the International Symposium on ALS/MND meeting held in Boston last week. Both these findings and an ongoing Phase 3 trial, now recruiting patients in…

The rate of ALS patients’ lung-function decline can predict their risk of breathing failure, their need for assisted ventilation, and their risk of death, according to Cytokinetics, a company that develops muscle-disease therapies. “These results suggest that respiratory function is an important prognostic indicator of clinical progression in people with…

The schizophrenia therapy Orap (pimozide) may be able to prevent the progression of ALS, Canadian researchers report. The team confirmed in a clinical trial of 25 ALS patients the results it saw in studies with worms, fish and mice. An antipsychotic drug, Orap is used to treat other psychiatric conditions…

Boston-based Flex Pharma has announced positive topline results from its exploratory Phase 2 trial testing investigational therapy FLX-787 in Australian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with frequent muscle cramps. The data showed that FLX-787 significantly reduced the intensity of cramp-associated pain and stiffness compared to placebo. The positive results support the…