News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Fast Track designation to VM BioPharma’s lead investigational drug candidate, VM202, a potential gene therapy for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). VM BioPharm is planning to publish data from its Phase 1/2, open-label trial assessing the safety and…

The ALS Association, ALS advocates, and representatives from the National Health Council joined Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) in a Capitol Hill press conference to urge Congress to enact the Dormant Therapies Act, which Lance helped sponsor. “We need a new way. Right now, there is no treatment available that significantly slows…

A bill that would waive the five-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — legislation supported by the ALS Association during its recent National ALS Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. — has been introduced into the U.S. Congress. Called the ALS Disability Insurance Access…

This year’s ALS Association-sponsored Drug Company Working Group meeting — to review recent trial results and discuss new developments in the search for ALS treatments — was held in April as part of the 68th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, the world’s largest gathering…

Persistent environmental pollutants like pesticides are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and may represent modifiable ALS disease risk factors, according to a study published online in JAMA Neurology, titled “Association of Environmental Toxins With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.” ALS is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease. Persistent exposure to…

Ammar Al-Chalabi, a professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at King’s College London, was presented with the  Sheila Essey Award at a special session of the recent American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting dedicated to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. He was selected to receive the $50,000 award by both the ALS Association…

During the Drug Company Working Group session at the recent American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada, a top researcher from Cytokinetics gave an update on a new Phase 3 study of  tirasemtiv as a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and another from Biogen talked about a new trial to assess outcome measures in ALS…

Mutations in the SOD1 gene, a major copper-binding protein, are a known cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). An extensive review from Keio University in Japan explores the possible role of copper homeostasis in SOD1-linked ALS, as seen in mice studies, and highlights the need for similar studies in people.

Scientists at Umeå University have found that  superoxide dysmutase (SOD1), a protein that may cause amylotophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) spreads and clumps when injected into mice. The protein deposits also cause ALS-like symptoms. The report, titled “Two superoxide dismutase prion strains transmit amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like disease” appeared May 3, 2016…

SOD1 protein aggregates can spread in a prion-like way, rapidly causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when injected into the spinal cord of mice carrying a human mutated SOD1 gene. The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, substantially advance insights into mechanisms in hereditary ALS, and…