News

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that involves the death of neurons that activate voluntary muscles. These muscles are called skeletal striated muscles and are responsible for our ability to walk, talk and even breathe. The disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s or Charcot disease, is therefore characterized by stiff muscles, muscle twitching and…

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals recently announced that it received two grants totalling $500,000 from the ALS Association to support research projects to find a cure and possible treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Aquinnah will utilize the grants to further the advance of its lead compounds targeting TDP-43 pathophysiology, which is found in almost 90…

In a new study entitled “Acute traumatic brain injury does not exacerbate ALS in the SOD1 model” researchers report that a one-time traumatic injury to the brain is not an accelerating factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression. The study was published in the eNeuro…

Cytokinetics, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class muscle activators as potential treatments for debilitating diseases, recently received a grant worth $1.5 million from The ALS Association. The funding will be crucial to gather clinical data and plasma samples to further ALS biomarker studies in VITALITY-ALS,…

A study led by researchers at The Center of Free Radical and Biomedical Research at Universidad de la Republica in Uruguay revealed that antioxidant therapies like MitoQ are a promising treatment strategy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study was published in the journal Free Radical Biology…

LC Technologies, a top industry developer of eye tracking software and NuShield, Inc., a screen protector and glare-elimination technology firm, have teamed up to provide communication mobility for disabled patients who can’t communicate through speech or hand motion, as is the case with ALS patients. Until very recently, large and bulky LCD monitors with matte…

New data revealing a link between the LDL receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was presented during the 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in April 2015. The presentation was entitled “LRP4 antibodies are frequent in serum and CSF from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients”. ALS is…

In a new study entitled “Neural population dynamics in human motor cortex during movements in people with ALS” researchers at Stanford University shed light on how the brain controls muscle movement. Their findings may help accelerate the development of prosthetic devices for patients with motor neuron…

Researchers at the University of Alberta and the National Institute for Nanotechnology in Canada recently reported new insights into the misfolding process of proteins from a normal structure to a disease state characteristic of degenerative disorders. The study entitled “Protein misfolding occurs by slow diffusion…

In a recent study published in the journal eLife, a team of researchers at Stanford University was able to identify a group of neurons that work together and fire in complex rhythms to send movement signals to muscles. “We hope to apply these findings to create prosthetic…