The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the evaluation of the first three candidate therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial. This trial model, designed to accelerate the development of ALS therapies by assessing multiple treatment candidates simultaneously, is the first of…
Athletes who played professional football — known as soccer in the U.S. — are more than three times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than are the general population, a study from Scotland has found. Its researchers compared causes of death over 18 years for about 7,700 former professional…
My son pointed to a plastic army man on the ottoman. “That guy is a sniper,” he said. “He’s taking everyone out.” He placed a soldier on top of others on the living room floor. “This army is using dead bodies to build a wall. In war, you have to…
A first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2 trial testing a nanomedicine called CNM-Au8 as a potentially disease-modifying therapy for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This safety and efficacy study, due to finish in April 2021, is also completely enrolled, Clene Nanomedicine, the treatment’s developer, announced…
A single spinal injection of an investigational RNA therapy blocked motor neuron degeneration and saved motor function in animal models of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) linked to SOD1 mutations, a study reports. Giving the treatment — a virus-delivered gene-silencer targeting the SOD1 gene — before the onset of…
Whenever I’m out and about running errands, I’m aware of the possibility I’ll need to make a quick stop at, ahem, the public restroom. But though I have ALS and rely on a mobility scooter, it has never been a problem. That’s because I have a mental list of handicapped-accessible…
A recently discovered inflammatory mechanism triggered by Schwann cells — specialized cells that produce the protective myelin sheath around neurons — in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can be alleviated with masitinib, a study in rat models shows. The study, “Schwann cells orchestrate peripheral nerve…
To help accelerate development of effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the ALS Association is investing $3 million in the disease’s first platform trial. The award is $1 million annually for three years to support the platform investigation, a type of clinical study that evaluates the…
A recently completed Phase 1 trial studying NPT520-34 — an investigational small molecule being developed by Neuropore Therapies for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — has shown the candidate to be safe and well-tolerated in a group of healthy volunteers. The…
The grief that accompanies ALS is multifaceted. I grieve my husband’s loss of function and the loss of our dreams. Just when we find a new normal, there is further decline. I let my grief out on the pages of my journal. I cry, I scream in the car when…
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