News

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is investing $25 million over five years in a program to encourage innovative research that deepens our understanding of  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with a goal of better treating the disease. Called Accelerating Leading-edge Science in ALS (ALS2), the initiative aims at…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $3.3 million grant to researchers at two universities to advance studies of TDP-43, a protein that builds to form toxic clumps in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease. Their goal is to better understand how…

Caffeine, an antioxidant with neuroprotective properties, was seen to promote the normal development of lab-cultured motor neurons isolated from a mouse model of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Similar results were also found with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in its oxidized form (NAD+), a metabolic cofactor…

Each June 21 marks Global Day 2020, 24 hours set aside to heighten awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to raise money to fight it. Ample ways exist to participate in the worldwide event that’s coordinated by the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations, whose member organizations…

Mutations in the UBQLN2 gene, known to cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), promote the buildup of toxic waste in brain cells by preventing the normal function of two cellular degradation mechanisms, a study has found. In addition to its known role in the proteasome, a mechanism used…

Denali Therapeutics and Sanofi announced a pause in clinical testing of their small molecule inhibitor DNL747 in favor of work on a possibly more effective compound, DNL788, for neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. DNL747 was seen to be safe…

Genetic variants of the NEK1 gene that cause the coded protein to lose its function seem to increase the odds of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by more than ninefold, with these patients significantly more likely to experience weakness in their hands as a first symptom, a study has…

The ALS Association and I AM ALS have awarded BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics $500,000 to support an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) biomarker study based on the biotechnology company’s pivotal trial into its NurOwn therapy. Specifically, the combined grant — $400,000 is from the ALS Association —…

The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) recently created a Rare Disease Diversity Coalition focused on reducing racial disparities in the rare disease community. Getting a timely and accurate diagnosis for a disease that few people — sometimes even physicians — have heard of is challenging on its own merit.

A cancer treatment called tamoxifen, which previously showed promise in preclinical studies for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), provides only modest and short-lasting benefits to patients with the disease, a small Phase 1/2 clinical trial has found. According to the study’s researchers, larger studies and longer…