Phase 3 Trial of Oral Levosimendan as Respiratory Treatment for ALS Recruiting in US, Europe and Australia

Phase 3 Trial of Oral Levosimendan as Respiratory Treatment for ALS Recruiting in US, Europe and Australia

A new Phase 3 trial evaluating levosimendan (also known as ODM-109), an oral treatment by Orion for breathing problems in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), has recruited its first patients, the Finnish pharmaceutical company announced. The trial, called REFALS (NCT03505021), aims to investigate the potential benefits of prolonged treatment with levosimendan…

2 miRNAs Controlling Genes Involved in ALS, and Possible Way of Regulating Them, Identified in Study

Sporadic and familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are associated with two microRNA molecules that are downregulated — meaning these molecules, involved in the protein production of certain genes, cause less protein to be created —, researchers have discovered. And they found a possible way of “upregulating” these molecules, making…

FDA Approves Xeomin for Excessive Drooling, Common in ALS Patients

Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic sialorrhea, or excessive drooling, a common condition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Merz Neurosciences, a division of Merz North America, recently announced that its supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for Xeomin was…

Minding Your Health While Living with ALS

For most of my adult life, keeping track of my health was easy peasy — at least, it was before I had ALS. I always followed the recommended guidelines for annual exams, participated in my employer’s work site wellness screens and made sure my immunizations were up…

Mighty Mind Strategies for Managing Pain 

Over the past year, I have become an expert in pain — something I never wanted to be. However, daily severe muscle spasms, cramping, one surgery, and an emergency room visit later, here I am. Despite my plethora of pain medications, I still suffered. Then, I realized that…

Global Project MinE Aims to Identify Rare Gene Variants in ALS

Rare gene mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) will be increasingly identified with large-scale, international studies, findings from Project MinE suggest. The study, “Project MinE: study design and pilot analyses of a large-scale whole-genome sequencing study in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” was published in the European…

ProMIS Moving into 2nd Phase of Work on Antibody Treatment for ALS

ProMIS Neurosciences announced that it is moving toward selecting antibodies — from the many identified in earlier work — that specifically target the toxic proteins that accumulate in the brains of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s patients, and that may work as therapies. Specifically for ALS, the identified antibodies target TDP43…