How being outdoors brought peace and perspective, then and now

When I look back at photos from when my late husband, Jeff, was living with ALS — something I do often to find inspiration for this column — I’m struck by how many of our happier memories took place outdoors, even in the advanced stages of Jeff’s illness.

The Gary E. Shealy Memorial ALS Clinic in Tennessee has received a $75,000 grant from the ALS Association to support expanding its clinical care services for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The clinic at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Health is the only one in the state that…

A decade ago, I purchased a fireproof lockbox to secure important papers, such as birth certificates, Social Security cards, and passports. I also stored several necklaces that my husband, Todd, had given to me, along with two watches he’d worn before he got ALS. Over the years, I added…

Treatment with Qalsody (tofersen) in the real world slowed disease progression in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by SOD1 mutations, a small study reports. It also stabilized patients’ quality of life and lowered levels of nerve damage-related biomarkers, which is consistent with clinical trial data that…

A double-blind Phase 2 clinical trial that will test Corcept Therapeutics’ oral cortisol modulator dazucorilant against a placebo in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is now fully enrolled, the company announced in a press release. Called DAZALS (NCT05407324), the trial involves 249 adults with sporadic…

For those of us living with ALS, every day can have a stressful event. The key, I believe, is to get through the event and, if possible, remember it later with humor. Even in a parking lot. “Let’s circle the parking lot one more time,” my agitated husband said.

Treatment with NurOwn (debamestrocel), which BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is developing for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), may bring about changes in biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration that predict clinical outcomes. The findings come from the Phase 3 trial (NCT03280056) that tested NurOwn against a placebo in 189 adults with rapidly…

Troriluzole, a new formulation of the approved amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) treatment riluzole, can be taken with or without food and appears to have better pharmacological properties than approved versions of the medication that allow once daily administration. That’s according to data from three studies in healthy volunteers presented…

ALS was first identified in 1869, though its symptoms were documented in medical literature as early as 1824. It’s intriguing that the sequence of the disease today is often similar, with initial symptoms followed by an actual diagnosis. It took four years to receive my…

NeuroSense Therapeutics’ investigational therapy PrimeC tends to reduce blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — especially when given earlier in the course of the disease. That’s according to data from the PARADIGM Phase 2b…