Actor, Director and Playwright Sam Shepard Dies After Battle With ALS

Actor, director and playwright, Sam Shepard, has died following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The star passed away at his Kentucky home on Thursday, July 27, surrounded by his family following a lengthy and private battle with the disease. MORE: Explaining amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) As a Hollywood…

Healthcare providers may now begin researching the insurance benefits process for patients in advance of the upcoming availability of Radicava (edaravone), an approved treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to the therapy’s distributor in the U.S., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…

This very informative video from Khan Academy explains more about the progressive, degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). MORE: 10 things to know about genetic testing for ALS. The film explains that ALS is a rare disease that affects one to two people out of every 100,000. The…

Cytokinetics recently announced the start of a Phase 2 clinical trial investigating a new therapy candidate (CK-2127107) for the potential treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Phase 2 FORTITUDE-ALS (NCT03160898) study will soon be…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted fast track status to FLX-787, Flex Pharma‘s treatment for severe muscle cramps in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Flex designed FLX-787 to interfere with transient receptor potential ion channels that are believed to play a role in nervous system pain and inflammation.

We know dealing with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) sometimes feels like an uphill battle, both for the patients and the caregivers. You feel like you’re not doing enough or as if the disease is taking up all your time and attention. To help you on your journey, we’ve gathered a few quotes we thought…

Did you know that walkers weren’t invented until the 1950s? I shudder to think how mobility-challenged people managed to get around, or didn’t, before that time. And it wasn’t until 1978, when a woman in Sweden (who had polio) added four wheels onto her walker, creating what…

Scientists have known for some time that abnormal DNA repetitions in the C9orf72 gene contribute to neuron death in ALS and frontotemporal dementia. Now they have learned how it happens: The anomalies leave DNA susceptible to damage, prompting a cell repair mechanism to become over-active. That hyperactivity cause neuron deaths.

In this video from LA Fitness, 51-year-old surfing fanatic Chris Mehess shares his ALS story. Chris first experienced problems in April 2015 when he began having difficulties staying upright on his surfboard and regularly suffered from cramping in his ankles and calves. A few months later, he…

Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics has received a $16 million grant from a state agency known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to develop a Phase 3 clinical trial of its ALS stem-cell therapy NurOwn. NurOwn is based on mesenchymal stem cells, which can transform themselves into various types of cells. Brainstorm…