Talking My Way Through 2020

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…

A single infusion of AstroRx, an off-the-shelf, investigational cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), safely and significantly slows disease progression in the first three months following treatment, according to updated data from an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial. These benefits waned after six months, indicating…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has opened an expanded access program (EAP) in the U.S. to allow certain amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients to gain access to its investigational cell-based therapy NurOwn. EAPs, also known as compassionate use programs, are intended to make investigational therapies available outside of a clinical…

Every week, I receive an email from a friend that’s filled with cartoons, jokes, and quirky one-liners. And this time around, one quip struck me as feeling eerily true: “It feels weird being the same age as old people.” Why? Well, like most folks who share my age (I’m 69),…

Researchers at QurAlis have discovered a molecule with the potential to act as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in addition to a new therapeutic target for the disease. The findings from both projects were presented at the 31st International Symposium on ALS/MND,…

A method that measures tiny amounts of aggregated TDP-43 protein in the cerebrospinal fluid may have the potential to detect amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the early stages of the disease, potentially before symptom onset, a study reports. The study,…