News

The ALS Association, together with partner Prize4Life, has announced the First Phase winners of The ALS Assistive Technology Challenge, which now enters its Prize Phase, where $400,000 will be awarded for the development of flexible, accessible technology to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) communicate better.

German researchers have identified a new gene — called NEK1 — that appears to be responsible for familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Loss of function mutations in the gene were more common in ALS patients than in healthy controls, according to findings published in the journal Brain. Familial ALS…

OptiKey is a free, assistive on-screen keyboard software for computers on the Windows operating system. It is designed to be used with a low cost eye-tracking device to enable speech and keyboard and mouse control to people with motor and speech limitations, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or…

Motor neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can begin in axons at neuromuscular junctions and later spread to the cell body in the spinal cord, in a phenomenon known as the “dying back” hypothesis. Proteins involved in axonal regeneration may, for this reason, represent a potential therapeutic target in ALS. A research team from Germany found…

Portage Biotech and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals recently announced they have received positive feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on their Pre-Investigational New Drug Application (PIND) interaction regarding Biohaven’s investigative drug BHV-0223, intended for treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). BHV-0223 is the glutamate modulating compound riluzole, contained in the tablet…

In a new study, researchers found a protein in the p53 family, called p63, is increased in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is a significant player in disease progression through the regulation of the activity of genes that promote the breakdown of muscle cells. The study, “Transcriptional activator TAp63 is upregulated in muscular atrophy during…

Researchers revealed that the loss of major histocompatibility complex I (MHCI) is a key step in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). The study, “Major histocompatibility complex class I molecules protect motor neurons from astrocyte-induced toxicity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” was published in the journal…

Cytokinetics announced that it has joined with efforts by the European Organisation for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS) and the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) to raise awareness for Rare Disease Day. Cytokinetics is focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing new types of muscle activators, and has developed the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug candidate…

Northwestern University researchers Anne Marie Piper and Brenna Argall have received the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation for exceptional work, some of which has implications in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. The CAREER Award supports promising young faculty members who lead by example…

New research by MIT Sloan Prof. Andrew W. Lo, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute‘s David Weinstock, M.D., and Vahid Montazerhodjat, an MIT post-doctoral fellow, offers a solution for the excessive costs associated with breakthrough therapies that already exist for certain diseases such as ALS: securitized consumer healthcare loans (HCLs). The research introducing this practical…