Treatment with extracts from the Withania somnifera plant improved motor performance and delayed disease progression in mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to researchers. The study, “Protective effects of Withania somnifera extract in SOD1G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” was published in the journal Experimental Neurology. ALS generally develops sporadically, indicating that in…
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A decline of 25 percent each year in cough peak flow, a test of cough strength and airway clearance, is a predictor of poor survival in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a small study from Japan reports. The study “Cough peak flow decline rate predicts…
Federal healthcare databases, especially Medicare, are a valuable resource in identifying cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the U.S. population, and may help in tracking the prevalence of other neurological diseases as well, a group of researchers report. The study, “Estimation of the Prevalence of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in…
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MicroRNA Known to Be Abundant in ALS Patients May Offer Way of Treating Disease, Study Suggests
The microRNA-218 (miR-218), produced at excessive levels by damaged or dying nerve cells, may be a therapeutic target for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an animal study suggests. This molecule was found to disrupt the normal function of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells found throughout the central nervous system (brain…
A newly developed test, known as the arrows and colors cognitive test, can be used to measure cognition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who have severe motor and verbal disabilities. A study about that assessment tool, “The Arrows and Colors Cognitive Test (ACCT): A new verbal-motor free cognitive…
An exploratory anti-cancer therapy may halt the characteristic toxic accumulation of TDP-43 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), researchers suggest. The preclinical study, “Poly(ADP-Ribose) Prevents Pathological Phase Separation of TDP-43 by Promoting Liquid Demixing and Stress Granule Localization,” was published in the journal…
The first patient has been dosed in a Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT03491462) evaluating the effectiveness of Orphazyme’s investigational therapy arimoclomol in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). One of the disease mechanisms known to be involved in the development of ALS is protein misfolding and aggregation…
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Physicians Asked to Help ALS Patients Die Must Evaluate Motivations, Alternatives, Case Report Says
Physicians who help amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients die should carefully evaluate their motivations, capacity, and care goals, while also discussing alternatives with their patient, according to researchers. An ALS patient case and commentary, “How Should Physicians Care for Dying Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?” appeared in the…
MND Scotland has initiated a clinical trial to test the tolerability and effectiveness of interleukin-2 in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease (MND). The trial is now recruiting participants. Interleukin-2, which is used for treatment of some rare types of cancer, is…
Researchers developed a computational model able to recognize amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) based on patients’ speech patterns, suggesting it may one day be a non-invasive and low-cost way of evaluating disease severity and likely progression, possibly in a person’s home. The study, by scientists at IBM Thomas…
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