News

Last year the Ice Bucket Challenge made headlines across America when the Barrow Neurological Institute raised more than $500,000 through the international fundraising and advocacy initiative. Now, the organization is reporting that the funds accumulated will be used to support a new and potentially groundbreaking amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) study to determine why…

Diet has a significant influence on a person’s health status because it determines which nutrients are available for the body to function properly. Depending on the balance between diet and energy, body mass index (BMI) is also significantly influential to an individual’s health. Since the effects of diet on developing…

Portage Biotech, Inc. together with privately-held Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. has just acquired global intellectual property rights to an extensive 300-product portfolio by ALS Biopharma, LLC. These prodrugs included in the line up, most of which are classified as New Molecular Entities (NMEs), were originally designed and prepared by…

Researchers at Università degli Studi di Milano in Italy recently published in the journal Cells a review regarding the link between autophagy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study is entitled “Autophagy and Neurodegeneration: Insights from a Cultured Cell Model of ALS”. Autophagy…

Researchers at the University of Toronto and the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Canada recently reported the development of two new antibodies against a protein that plays a key role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – C9ORF72. The study was published in the journal Annals…

Researchers at Ulm University and Eberhard Karls University in Germany recently developed a new in vitro model for the study of motor neuron diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study was published in the journal Stem Cell Research and is entitled “…

A new research collaboration was recently formed between Biogen Idec, the ALS Association and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) to study the differences and similarities in ALS’ disease progress and how an patient’s genes can influence its clinical manifestations. The joint research initiative, titled, “Genomic Translation for ALS Clinical care” (GTAC), will entail…

Presymptomatic patients suffering with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ingest more calories per day but have lower body-mass index (BMI) in comparison to those without ALS. These are the results of a study from researchers in the Netherlands, published by the JAMA Neurology journal, which also assessed ALS disease risk and its connections…

In a recent study entitled “ALS-Linked P56S-VAPB Mutation Impairs the Formation of Multinuclear Myotube in C2C12 Cells” researchers investigated the role of a mutation associated with ALS type-8 (ALS8)  – P56S-VAPB mutation – on skeletal muscle cells homeostasis and muscle formation. The study was published in the…

People who participated in last year’s Ice Bucket Challenge have helped to make a difference in the lives of ALS patients that live in the area of St. Louis. The ALS Association was able to double their donations, which increased the associations’ support for ALS patient care, education,…