I’m always open to learning new things, especially when they involve simple ways to improve my life with ALS. When I come across something super helpful, I just have to share it with my readers. My most recent discovery involves a simple plastic straw. In fact, it’s become a…

Use of ATH-1105, a small molecule being developed by Athira Pharma to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), protected against nerve damage and improved motor function in a mouse model of the disease, according to data shared in a recent company presentation. Athira is planning to file an…

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as in many diseases, patient registries, biorepositories, and natural history studies are helpful both in planning clinical trials and as tools for scientists to learn more about how a person’s lifestyle, genetics, and environment can potentially lead to…

Note: This column includes a mention of suicide. The most powerful force within people is the impulse to stay alive. Our survival instinct is so strong that we’re willing and inexplicably able to perform inhuman feats and take unimaginable risks. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, survival is the foundation…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has requested a Type A meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the agency’s recent refusal to review its application for NurOwn as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Type A meetings are scheduled to resolve differences between the…

Because life with ALS only gets harder as time goes by, prayer has felt increasingly unproductive for me. And after more than a decade of watching my husband, Todd, suffer from the disease, my prayers have been full of dismay. “God, are you there? Don’t you care? Don’t you…

Eikonoklastes Therapeutics and Forge Biologics have announced a new partnership to advance the development of ET-101, an experimental gene therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), toward clinical trial testing. Eikonoklastes acquired the rights to ET-101 from the University of California San Diego earlier this year. Under…

Higher levels of inflammatory immune cells called effector T-cells at the time of diagnosis are associated with faster disease progression and worse survival among people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a new study indicates. In turn, greater numbers of regulatory T-cells, which work to dampen excessive immune responses, were…

I’ll admit that because I live with ALS, some of my past “Human vs. Automation” experiences have been, um, less than perfect. Touchpads that open automated doors don’t always work for me, and voice activation software doesn’t recognize my commands. But now, I have a new sense of…

A soft robotic implantable device that can exert mechanical force on muscles was shown to reduce muscle atrophy in a mouse model in a recent study. Based on the findings, researchers believe the device may be able to be applied in diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that…