News

Researchers at the University of Bari in Italy, tested an electronic nose to see if it could sniff out exhaled breath composition of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from healthy controls  – with the potential of the nose someday becoming a screening and diagnostic tool for the disease. The research paper, titled “…

By screening nearly 250 factors in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Chinese researchers were able to identify a marker linked to disease severity. The team also found a protein that distinguished ALS from other neurological diseases which, if confirmed in larger studies, could act as a…

Activity seen in two of the brain’s resting state networks in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients may be a sign of more severe and rapidly progressing disease in a person. These networks, at work when a person is not focusing on a specific task, were investigated in the study, “Investigating Default Mode and…

An analysis of inflammatory marker levels in blood samples from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, improves patient categoration and may help design future ALS clinical trials, according to a new study. The study “Systemic inflammatory response and neuromuscular involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” was published in the journal…

Target ALS Foundation, focused on finding new treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), has selected RUCDR Infinite Biologics as the biorepository for banking and distributing the foundation’s human stem cell lines to be used in industry and research. The privately funded non-profit institution, funds consortia-based collaborative projects that aim to decrease obstacles…

Researchers at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan, reviewed advances for using natural plant compounds to regulate autophagy, a process in the development of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular atrophies, spinocerebellar ataxia 3, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The review “Natural compounds preventing…

Researchers reviewed both current and emerging technical approaches that show the most promise in the detection of upper motor neuron (UMN) degeneration of ALS patients. By assessing and comparing the utility of cutting-edge imaging and electrophysiological approaches, researchers hope to identify biomarkers for UMN dysfunction that can serve as early diagnostics for…

“Die Trying”, this Friday’s episode of HBO’s edgy half-hour newsmagazine series VICE, is about ALS and hosted by the show’s Senior Associate Editor Angelina Fanous who is battling the disease. A preview trailer can be viewed at: https://als.vice.com/. Living with ALS, Egyptian-born Fanous is now focusing on…

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Barcelona in Spain studied the contribution of cellular redox environment changes to the stability and integrity of SOD1, a protein implicated in the development and progression of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A key finding was that mutations in the…

Researchers at the University of California-Riverside have shown, for the first time, that infection from the common parasite Toxoplasma gondii disrupts neurotransmitter glutamate function in the brain, potentially leading to neuronal death and neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in individuals predisposed to such conditions. The research paper, “…