Stem cell therapy using a certain type of stem cell called human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) may have the potential to improve outcomes and prevent progression of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a mouse study suggests. Repeated administrations of these stem cells in the spinal cord prolonged the lifespan…
With each new advance in medicine comes ethical dilemmas, from fertility treatments and newborn screening, to vaccinations, gene therapies and euthanasia. But rare diseases and the expensive therapies needed to treat them — particularly in an age of scarce economic resources — almost always entail “tragic choices,” warned Avraham Steinberg,…
Markers of oxidative stress, iron metabolism in the brain and nerve cell damage may accurately predict disability in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to new research. The study, “A ferroptosis-based panel of prognostic biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,” appeared in the journal Scientific…
Examining the genetic risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may become a lot easier with a user-friendly tool called ALSgeneScanner, which is meant to be used by non-specialists such as health care professionals and patients. The method is able to analyze DNA sequencing data from patients and distinguish…
New genetic mutations in the coding sequence of the GLT8D1 enzyme have been identified and linked to inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a study reports. Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. and their collaborators found that these GLT8D1 gene variants prevented the normal functioning of the enzyme, which…
“She put me through some changes, Lord, sort of like a Waring blender. Poor, poor, pitiful me. Poor, poor, pitiful me.” –Warren Zevon *** The other day while I was ruminating about the burdens that ALS imposes, a call of nature provided an intervention of…
People affected by depression before being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have a higher risk of developing cognitive impairments at later stages of the disease, a study says. The findings of the study, “Depression and risk of cognitive dysfunctions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” were…
Stick around, because the weather will always change! That was a life lesson I learned while growing up in Iowa. Spring in Iowa often meant that one day we’d be wearing parkas, the next day T-shirts and shorts, and then back to wearing heavy parkas again. We knew…
Rare diseases affect about 30 million Americans — roughly the same number as those with type 2 diabetes. Yet only 5 percent of the estimated 7,000 rare diseases known to science have cures or treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Raising awareness of those illnesses and highlighting…
Loss of normal ion flow in the skeletal muscle may worsen symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a mouse study shows. Researchers have identified several targets that rescue iron flow, namely chloride, in skeletal muscle, highlighting their potential in developing new therapies. The study, “Elucidating the Contribution of Skeletal…
