Just when we think life has dealt us the worst hand possible, along comes someone whose circumstances make ours look a little less daunting. I’ve experienced that feeling a few times in a support group I attend and when online. But one of the most difficult hands I’ve seen in…
Dazucorilant, Corcept Therapeutics‘ investigational cortisol modulator for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is being evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial. The DAZALS Phase 2 study (NCT05407324) aims to determine dazucorilant’s safety and efficacy against a placebo in about 198 adults with ALS. It will be…
“Two are better than one,/ because they have a good return for their labor:/ If either of them falls down,/ one can help the other up./ But pity anyone who falls/ and has no one to help them up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV) Because my husband, Todd, has…
A cholesterol-related protein, called apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), can prevent the death of endothelial cells — those lining blood vessel walls — in a cell model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a recent lab study shows. According to researchers, these results “show promise for ApoA1 as a therapeutic agent to…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending by three months its review of tofersen, Biogen’s investigational treatment for forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene. Earlier this summer, the FDA granted the application priority review, with a decision expected no…
The nonprofit EverythingALS is teaming up with several biotech companies for a study into the feasibility of monitoring amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression in people via disease-specific biomarkers captured digitally at the home. The study will be open to adults with an ALS diagnosis or for whom ALS…
An extended-release formulation of PrimeC, an investigational combination therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), demonstrated a favorable pharmacokinetic profile in healthy adults in a Phase 1 trial, helping with an ongoing Phase 2b study and work into a potential pivotal trial in ALS patients. A pharmacokinetic (PK) study aims…
I’m writing this column on a tough and emotional day — the anniversary of the 2018 ALS diagnosis for my late husband, Jeff. For the day I might have planned, I’d be hiking up Old Rag Mountain in Virginia, perhaps sharing the pretty view on social media,…
Helixmith has unveiled its new multi-approach program called DART — Defeating ALS through Regenerative Therapeutics — to develop new therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Company CEO Sunyoung Kim presented the program in person and virtually at the 2022 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, Oct. 11–13.
My 16-year-old-daughter, Sara, watched a TED Talk by Angela Duckworth on grit in her AP Language class. Sara was not impressed. “I don’t want to have grit,” she declared. Many of her high school friends are taking college math classes while she is on the standard math track. She sees…
