The pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is still not very well understood. A new study on the genetic origin of ALS entitled “Antisense Proline-Arginine RAN Dipeptides Linked to C9ORF72-ALS/FTD Form Toxic Nuclear Aggregates that Initiate In Vitro and In Vivo Neuronal Death” was published in the Journal…

The ALS Association announced that $326,662 will be used to fund new Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research. The new funding will seek to expand ongoing research projects to increase the knowledge of the most frequent genetic cause of the disease and support clinical trials dedicated to those that carry…

Yumanity Therapeutics, a new biotechnology company working on the development of drug discoveries for the treatment of conditions caused by protein misfolding, was launched last Monday by well-known leader in the biotech industry Tony Coles, M.D., who is not only the founding investor of the company, but will also serve as its chairman and chief…

A new study entitled “Aggregation propensities of Superoxide Dismutase G93 hotspot mutants mirror Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis clinical phenotypes” identified a mechanism that leads to the aggregation of SOD protein mutant forms that are typically found in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) motor neurons. The study opens new therapeutic avenues…

Chemists from Cornell University, using a technique that illuminates very subtle changes in individual proteins, may have found new evidence about the underlying causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Professor of chemical biology and chemistry Brian Crane led a study and co-authored a follow-up based on a spectroscopic method that is…

New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles indicates that genetic mutations may underlie more amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than scientists had previously realized. The research results also revealed that the quantity of mutated genes influences at what age…

According to a July 2014 report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease is estimated to affect about 3.9 individuals for every 100,000 Americans, most commonly diagnosed in the elderly who are in their 70s. While the cause…

A new study entitled “Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Risk A Total Population–Based Case-Control Study” reports that using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) significantly decreases the risk for developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The study was published in the journal Jama Neurology. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also…

I’m sure we’ve entered the spooky season, a time when doing simple, normal activities feels more like a trip through the local haunted house. Goblins lurking in the shadows are ready to do their mischief. Who knew I’d find one hiding in the accessible stall of a restaurant’s restroom? But before…