Finding Beauty in the Dark of Winter

“I forgot how dark it is all the time,” my brother commented when he visited us in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula over the holidays. The sun was trapped behind cloud cover for the entire week he was here, and some years, it only peeks out occasionally during January with near daily…

Spinogenix has been awarded a research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to further test its lead compound as a potential treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the company announced. “We are pleased that the DoD has recognized the potential of our novel drug candidate to…

“There’s nothing but twigs and seeds, twigs and seeds, And they sure don’t deliver the punch that this ole head needs.” Jesse Winchester is lamenting his discovery that all that remains in his “medicinal” stash are the…

A system using human cells to model how the brain controls muscle movement has been developed for the first time, and scientists expect it to aid in understanding neurological disorders that affect movement, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study describing their model system, “Generation of Functional…

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America (MTPA) has launched an extension study to assess the long-term effects of an investigational oral formulation of edaravone (MT-1186) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “As a company, we strive to always put patients first in our efforts to understand this debilitating…

One of my personal traditions at the end of the year is a quick flip through my desk calendar to review the events and milestones that took place. Only this year, the world crisis overshadowed just about everything. “What’s to review?” I thought. But as I pondered the question a…

A Phase 2b/3 trial investigating the potential of SLS-005 (trehalose) to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been added to the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, the first such multi-regimen study created for ALS. The trial, designed by Seelos Therapeutics, the maker of…

Target ALS, a nonprofit working to advance research, has awarded a second round of grants supporting four projects that aim to discover and develop biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The grants are part of The Target ALS Diagnosis Initiative, a $15 million comprehensive effort to discover…

After years of behind-the-scenes work, the ALS Association is celebrating passage of the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019, likely to end the nearly half-year wait amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients go through to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The U.S. Senate earlier this…

This Christmas season, we reflect on Jesus’ entering into this beautiful, yet broken world. God incarnate entered into human life where he would know both love and betrayal. Fellowship and forsakenness. Hospitality and hostility. He experienced the joy of eating and drinking with close friends. He celebrated at a wedding…