Taming My Runaway Thinking

Racing thoughts, runaway thoughts. Whatever you call ’em, I caught ’em. Yup, a case of full-blown, out-of-control, runaway thoughts. I hadn’t had them for years — not since the day I was told I had ALS. And then, like most newly diagnosed patients, I spent weeks and months imagining the…

The clear, colorless liquid that fills and surrounds the brain and spinal cord in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) seems to induce early neurodegeneration events in healthy motor neurons, a study has found. When motor neurons were continuously cultured with cerebrospinal fluid  from ALS patients, cells showed…

Stem cells collected from a patient’s bone marrow and infused into the spinal fluid safely improved speaking abilities after 28 days for most of the 12 adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) evaluated in a small study. Its researchers recommend further…

The gut microbiome in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is altered compared to healthy people, which includes an imbalance in potentially protective microbial groups and others with pro-inflammatory activity, a study found.  Also, while taking probiotic supplements over six months…

“Thank God I didn’t have to cough this weekend,” my husband, Todd, said after his parents left. They had been visiting us from Minnesota. A couple months ago, his mom called as I was returning from the grocery store. “Todd can’t breathe. He needs help,” she said. He was doing…

Orion Corporation’s oral therapy levosimendan (ODM-109) failed to preserve lung function and overall functionality in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), data from the Phase 3 REFALS clinical trial show. “We would like to express our warmest thanks to the patients, carers and investigators for participating in the REFALS…

Measurements taken of muscle using ultrasound could be useful in diagnosing or managing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a small study suggests. The study, “Application of Muscle Ultrasound for the evaluation of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An observational Cross‐Sectional Study,” was published in Muscle & Nerve.

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining the Fox Valley/Lakeshore ALS Virtual Support Group in Wisconsin as their guest speaker. We had fun discussing ways to reduce stress during the ongoing crisis while we live with our ALS. During my presentation, I shared one strategy…

A small molecule called microRNA-182-5p (miR‐182‐5p) is involved in the detection of cell stress and in the survival of motor neurons, the cells progressively lost in people in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a study in mice showed. These findings shed light on the mechanisms behind ALS’ stress-associated nerve cell…

A new mutation in the FUS gene, which results in a shorter version of the FUS protein that cannot enter the cell nucleus to work as it should, may cause an aggressive from of juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the case of an adolescent girl shows. The…