News

Citing research progress and other efforts, the late-stage biopharmaceutical company Cytokinetics has reaffirmed its burgeoning partnership with the ALS Association in its fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). For starters, the company is renewing its sponsorship of the association’s national Walk to Defeat ALS fundraisers, as well…

Using a smartphone to collect amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients’ self-reported scores in the ALS-specific functional rating scale revised (ALSFRS-R) is feasible and shows a high correlation to scores collected at clinical sites, a small pilot study shows. The study “Design and results of a smartphone-based digital…

Histamine-related genes are promising disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets to slow amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression, a mouse study suggests. The study, “Histaminergic transmission slows progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” was published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder…

Use of statins, the blood cholesterol-lowering medications, for more than a year was linked to a lower risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among older adults, a large Medicare beneficiaries-based study suggests. The study “Relationship of statins and other cholesterol- lowering medications and risk of amyotrophic lateral…

More than 800 community members recently turned out for the inaugural Arrest and Extinguish ALS event in Lenox, Massachusetts, raising $50,000 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. Twenty-two first-responder teams from the state’s Berkshires region gathered at the music venue Tanglewood to participate in a fun tug-of-war event…

RaDaR, the catchy new name for the U.S. government-run Rare Diseases Registry Program, aims to help patient advocacy groups with limited resources build their own disease registries. The site was developed by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a division of the National Institutes of…

Injection of human neural stem cells into the spinal cord of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was found safe and did not cause adverse effects even two years after the transplant, results from a Phase 1 clinical trial show. Trial findings were published in the study, “Results…

Although people who develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have altered levels of several blood metabolites — products of our cells’ metabolism — before disease onset, these changes do not enable reliable identification of who is at risk of having ALS, according to a large study. The research, “…

People with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) related to the gene VAPB — known as ALS type 8 — can show subtle cognitive deficits and obvious behavioral changes, which may lead to clinically significant depression and anxiety, a Brazilian study shows. This data supports prior studies…

Using antibiotics may increase the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with a higher number of prescriptions linked to greater risk, a nationwide study in Sweden suggests.  However, the researchers caution that more studies are needed to prove a direct,…