Agriculture Work and Exposure to Pollutants May Raise ALS Risk

Agriculture and other areas that expose people to pesticides, paint solvents, electromagnetic fields, and heavy metals may increase their odds of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a population-based study from Italy shows. But larger studies are needed to confirm these findings, its researchers wrote, as only some risk factors…

For a couple years after my husband Todd’s ALS diagnosis, I sought companionship in books written by people with ALS or their spouses. I read half a dozen stories, trying to wrap my mind around how we would navigate the rocky, unfamiliar landscape of the life…

Computer scientists at Stony Brook University have been awarded $200,000 by the ALS Association to continue the development of a mobile app that helps people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and others whose mobility has been impaired, to regain some of their independence. According to a…

“I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.” That call for awareness comes from the song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. The song’s writer, Stephen Stills…

Identifying blood biomarkers that reflect the metabolic changes occurring in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be among the most promising approaches to diagnosing patients in the early stages of disease, sometimes years before motor symptoms appear, a review study suggests. The study, “Importance of the…

Release the balloons and cue the marching band! May is ALS Awareness Month! Wait, what? The balloons are back-ordered? And the marching band is still sheltering in place? Well, ALS doesn’t stop, and neither should we. ALS Awareness Month is here — so let’s make it a success! My…

The ALS Association has committed $652,543 over the next three years to support efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of clinical trials for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and to promote the development of treatments and research partnerships. The efforts are a collaboration of the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS), the…

Quebec has added Radicava (edaravone),  Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma’s treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to its provincial medication plan. The addition means the intravenous infusion therapy is now listed on the formulary of the Regie de l’assurance maladie du Quebec, which administers public health…

As the number of Americans infected with COVID-19 surpasses one million, it’s no surprise that people with rare diseases — whose immune systems were generally compromised even before the outbreak — are particularly terrified of this pandemic. That fear is evident in an online survey conducted by the National…

With my gym closed, I’ve been getting my daily exercise by cross-country skiing. A calm happiness washes over me at about the 2-kilometer mark, after my heart rate is up and endorphins flood my brain. I take in the beauty of the woods. Soft snow, the vestige of winter,…