News

The cerebrospinal fluid of people with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS), but not of those with familial forms of the disease, promoted ALS-specific molecular, cellular, and motor abnormalities in healthy mice, a study showed. Apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB100), a protein involved in cholesterol transport, was identified as the main…

Altered forms of the SOD1 protein are found in the spinal cord nerve cells of people with all types of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), not just those with mutations in the gene providing instructions for making the protein, a study reported. “The results suggest this abnormal protein contributes to cell…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has agreed to review an application seeking the conditional approval of AB Science’s masitinib, now Alsitek, for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Conditional approval is granted to a medication whose immediate availability fulfills an unmet medical need, when its preliminary benefits are…

Treatment with gene therapy candidate SynCav1 delayed disease onset and extended survival in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a new study. The experimental therapy aims to improve the survival of motor neurons in people with ALS irrespective of the underlying cause. “These data suggest that…

Treatment with terazosin, a medication approved to treat high blood pressure and enlarged prostate, was found to protect motor neurons and extend survival in animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a new study. “Our work shows that terazosin is protective of motor neuron cell death in multiple…

A clinical trial is evaluating whether a new, implantable brain computer interface (BCI) is able to decode brain signals — ones research has shown are related to tasks relying on the hands or speech — and transform them into actions for people with neurological disease or injury. Up to 15…

Whole-genome sequencing, a type of genetic screening that examines a person’s complete DNA sequence, may be a promising way to identify disease-causing mutations in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study of Italian patients. Disease-associated mutations were found in more than a quarter of 1,043 Italian…

Amydis is developing a test to monitor the buildup of TDP-43 in the eye’s retina of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which could offer a noninvasive way to diagnose the neurodegenerative disease sooner and better monitor its progression. The research will be conducted with support from a…

Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics is preparing to file an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting approval of its cell-based therapy NurOwn for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The decision to submit a biologics license application was based on “the totality of the evidence from NurOwn’s clinical…

A number of stem cell lines developed to better understand how certain genetic factors might contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases is now available to scientists worldwide. The cell lines were engineered by researchers at the National Institutes of Health Center for Alzheimer’s and Related…