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If signed by President Joe Biden, the bipartisan Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies (ACT) for ALS Act will fund crucial research into fast-progressing neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and provide patients with early access to promising treatment candidates. The legislation (HR 3537), which has passed the…

Athletes who have played in the National Football League (NFL) are significantly more likely than the general population to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a new study. “These findings indicate that athletes who played in the NFL have a nearly 4 times greater rate of developing, and…

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) leads to neuron damage in an eye layer called the retina through the activation of pro-inflammatory microglia, or immune cells of the brain and spinal cord, a study in a mouse model of the disease suggests. Consistent with previous evidence of retinal damage in…

A significantly greater proportion of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with less severe disease showed slower ALS progression with the investigational cell-based therapy NurOwn relative to a placebo. These are the findings of another post-hoc analysis of data from NurOwn’s Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT03280056), further supporting the…

Calling it the “biggest challenge” of his life, a U.K. rugby fan and motor neurone disease (MND) advocate, Martyn Clarke, is undertaking a Herculean effort — seven Half Ironman triathlons in seven days — to raise funds for the MND Association. Clarke, 47, was inspired to push himself to…

Thanks to the implementation of proactive safety measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America (MTPA) has enrolled at least 33 adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in its ongoing REFINE-ALS biomarker study. “ALS patient needs remain MTPA’s primary focus, so it was a priority to address the…

Most of the initial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients enrolled in Cytokinetics’ COURAGE-ALS Phase 3 trial testing its experimental therapy reldesemtiv have moderate-to-fast progressing disease at study entry. An analysis shows that, as intended, COURAGE-ALS is increasing the proportion of patients with rapidly progressing disease compared with the…

An oral suspension formulation of edaravone (MT-1186) is safe and well-tolerated in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to interim, six-month data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. In addition, exploratory efficacy results suggest that edaravone’s experimental oral formulation may slow patients’ functional decline to a similar level…

Before his recent death, motor neuron disease (MND) patient Anthony Walsh had the opportunity to try a prototype Toyota Human Support Robot (HSR), providing a glimpse into the kind of technology that could be used to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other MNDs with everyday tasks. Walsh, who was…

While it’s long been believed that the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord is the main cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), new research suggests that degeneration of motor neurons in the brain takes place independently and may also contribute to the disease. The study’s work in…