Scientists have developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) capable of instantly translating a person’s thoughts into written Mandarin Chinese. The technology expands the reach of BCIs, devices that capture brain signals to help people communicate, beyond its traditional focus on English speakers. It opens up the potential for millions more people…
Combining two blood biomarkers may make the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) more accurate and help predict how fast the disease will progress, according to a new German study. The two markers are soluble neurofilament light chain, called sNfL — a known marker of nerve damage — and…
ACI-19626, an experimental compound designed to be used as a PET tracer, can selectively bind to abnormal clumps of the protein TDP-43, a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but not to normal TDP-43 protein, preclinical research showed. Based on the promising early findings, ACI-19626’s developer, AC Immune,…
SPG302, an experimental oral therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was well tolerated in an early clinical trial, and initial findings suggest it may help slow disease progression. The new data come from a Phase 1/2a study (NCT05882695) conducted in Australia. The first parts of the study tested…
Target ALS has released a short documentary that follows the deeply personal journey of Dan Doctoroff, the organization’s founder and a person living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as he works to change the future of ALS research. The 17-minute film, “Everyone Lives: Turning Vision Into Reality,”…
The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins and ALS United will fund a preclinical study investigating how TDP-43 abnormalities contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The project, “Alternative Polyadenylation-Driven Subcellular RNA Mislocalization in TDP-43 Proteinopathies,” will explore the molecular mechanisms by which TDP-43 clumps,…
Former Texas A&M University football player Chris Larkin is returning to the university’s campus in College Station, widely known as Aggieland, to rally support in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Larkin, who played tight end for the Texas A&M Aggies in the 1980s, was diagnosed with…
The first participant has been enrolled in a large Italian clinical trial that’s testing Avextra’s cannabis-based medicine for managing symptoms in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The NEUROBIS Phase 2 study was cleared to start about a year ago by both the Italian…
People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) spend upward of $47,000 on medical care during the first year after their diagnosis, more than three times the amount spent by the average Medicare user, according to a new study by the ALS Association. The study results further showed that so-called…
A new blood test that analyzes tiny fragments of DNA released by dying cells may help diagnose amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and predict how quickly the disease will progress, a study suggested. “Our model test could not only distinguish ALS patients from healthy individuals but also from those with other…
