Muscular Dystrophy Association Awards $3.5M in New Research Grants

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is financing 13 new research programs aimed at developing treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other life-threatening diseases. Toward that goal, the organization recently announced it would distribute $3.5 million in new development grants. For the summer round of grants, 244 applicants submitted…

Neurimmune and Ono Pharmaceutical have entered a strategic partnership to develop human-derived monoclonal antibodies that might become the basis of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Under the terms of the agreement, Neurimmune will lead research to generate and validate these antibodies using…

Patients with neurodegenerative diseases have views that are framed by the context of their lives, and end-of-life care should be equally personalized, respectful and given in a timely way, researchers in a study report. The study, “The views of adults with neurodegenerative diseases on end-of-life care: a…

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is sometimes known as Lou Gehrig disease after the baseball player who famously suffered from it. Although ALS is a more common disease than we would like it to be, there is still little known about it and many are unaware of the details of the condition. MORE: Find out…

ALS is a disease that progressively shuts down your muscles by attacking certain cells in the brain and spinal cord needed to keep our muscles moving. Eventually, patients will lose their mobility, have trouble moving, walking, swallowing and even breathing. There is no known cure for ALS and the treatments available…

Boston-based Flex Pharma has announced positive topline results from its exploratory Phase 2 trial testing investigational therapy FLX-787 in Australian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with frequent muscle cramps. The data showed that FLX-787 significantly reduced the intensity of cramp-associated pain and stiffness compared to placebo. The positive results support the…

Findings from a Phase 3 study of tirasemtiv to improve muscle strength — particularly of respiratory muscles — in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients will likely be announced for a first time on Dec. 8 at the 28th ALS/MND meeting in Boston, a vice president of Cytokinetics, its developer, said…

Being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a difficult and stressful time. You’ll probably feel incredibly overwhelmed in the first few days and weeks, and struggle to understand the ramifications involved. To help with the process, we’ve compiled a list of tips for patients who have recently been diagnosed with…

Even though November is National Caregivers Month, I think we also should include Good Samaritans and caring strangers. Everyone who opens a door or helps carry a bag, hands us items off the top shelf or points us in the right direction; a big thank you…

Scientists have long linked abnormal versions of the protein TDP-43 to neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, but they haven’t had a full understanding of how it causes nerve cell deterioration. A Japanese study in mice indicates that elevated levels of the normal version of TDP-43 can play a role in…