Boosting Cell Stress Response May Be Promising Therapy Approach

Boosting Cell Stress Response May Be Promising Therapy Approach

A combination of guanabenz — an approved therapy for high blood pressure — plus riluzole slowed disease progression in adults with early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), particularly those with bulbar onset disease, a form of ALS, according to data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Despite these promising benefits, the…

Come Smell the Bacon

“Everybody’s talkin’ at me, Can’t hear a word they’re sayin’, Only the echoes of my mind.” – Fred Neil ALS has rendered me a minimalist creature of habit. My weekday routine includes the intersection of paranoid caution, practiced routine,…

EMA Group Favors Naming SLS-005 an Orphan Drug for ALS

A committee with the European Medicines Agency favors designating Seelos Therapeutics‘ investigational therapy SLS-005 (trehalose) an orphan drug as a potential treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the company announced in a press release. The opinion, issued by the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP), will now go to the…

How I Took My First Step in Spreading ALS Awareness

Like many newly diagnosed ALS patients, I was overwhelmed by the steep learning curve of finding out more about the disease. Never mind having to jump in and help raise funds for it. Every time May rolled around with ALS Awareness Month, I was uncertain about how I fit…

Biogen Agrees to Tofersen Access in July for Rapidly Advancing ALS

People with very rapidly progressing familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene may gain early access to Biogen’s experimental therapy tofersen by mid-July, the company announced. This marks the first part of Biogen’s planned access program for tofersen, and will begin after patients initially assigned…

Facing Uncertainty in Life With ALS

Life is unpredictable. People get in car accidents. They have heart attacks. Tornadoes strike. I recently saw a viral video in which a rabid bobcat attacked a woman outside her home. We never really know what will happen next, and yet, we humans usually live with optimism for the…

$60K Grant to Support Work on Biomarkers for ALS, Like Disorders

Applications for a $60,000 one-year grant are now open for researchers working to discover or validate biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or a similar disorder. Those interested in trying for this award need to submit a letter of intent as to their project’s nature and intent by May 7.