Low Levels of Specific microRNA Linked to Nerve Cell Damage and ALS Progression in Early Study

Lower-than-usual levels of a molecule called miR126-5p — a type of microRNA, with a role in producing proteins — led to neuron degeneration and disease progression in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in part by working to raise levels of toxic molecules, a study reports. Its researchers…

Two enzymes called USP5 and USP13 were found to have an important role in fighting back against toxic “stress granules,” a study reports. The study, titled “Deubiquitylases USP5 and USP13 are recruited to and regulate heat-induced stress granules through their deubiquitylating activities,” and published in the …

An experimental oral formulation of edavorone for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), called TW001, demonstrated promising pharmacological and safety data in a Phase 1 clinical trial, according to the biotech Treeway. The randomized trial compared TW001 to Radicava (Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America), an intravenous medication approved…

AB Science has decided not to seek the re-examination it initially requested after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued a negative opinion on marketing authorization for masitinib, the company’s investigational amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) therapy. The company announced in a press release that the re-examination procedure…

Should scientists have the right to edit the genes of future generations to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of potential rare diseases? Or should researchers restrict their use of genome editing to somatic cells, so that they don’t pass changes on to the next generation? What about stem-cell research, three-parent…

I know I have no control over how quickly or slowly my ALS progresses, but I can try to hold off the negative effects that come from long periods of sitting and shallow breathing. Because most people with ALS experience breathing difficulties somewhere along the course of their…

Researchers discovered that a small region of ataxin-2 — a protein known to be involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — is crucial for both long-term memory and the formation of toxic aggregates that lead to neurodegeneration. The study with that finding, “RNP-Granule Assembly via Ataxin-2 Disordered…

Finding treatments and potential cures for rare diseases is crucial, but so is the quality of patients’ lives — a rather nebulous term that means different things to different people. “Recently, there’s been much more of a focus on Quality of Life (QoL) issues, real-world evidence and patient-reported outcomes,” said…

A gene therapy that might treat familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an inherited form of the disease, was recently granted orphan drug status by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), an award that carries incentives to promote potential treatments for rare diseases. The investigative therapy is in preclinical development…

Two years after approving it, the 28-member European Union will begin enforcing its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — a tough new law that aims to protect the EU’s 512 million citizens, including rare disease patients, from having their medical records misused, sold, or subject to extortion by hackers, third…