Doing a muscle biopsy to look for abnormal clumps of the TDP-43 protein in the nerve fibers of muscle tissue may be useful for the early detection of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a single-center study from Japan. “It is difficult to diagnose ALS in its early stages…

Courtesy of Rick Jobus It is with deep sadness that we inform the ALS News Today community of the passing of our friend and treasured columnist, Rick Jobus, on June 19, 2022. Rick published the first installment of his column, “Notes From the ALS Front,”…

An at-home music therapy program aimed at improving speech, swallowing, and respiration in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was well-tolerated and feasible, according to a small pilot study. While the pilot study (NCT03604822) was not designed to test the program’s effectiveness, collected data suggest that the music…

“What if Todd had aspirated while you were on your spring break trip?” someone asked me. That’s the type of question I’ve asked myself many times over the last decade since my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS. What risks are we willing to take to…

Stealth BioTherapeutics’ investigational therapy SBT-272 eased inflammation and upper motor neuron degeneration in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with the accumulation of toxic TDP-43 protein clumps, the company announced. Motor neurons are nerve cells that control voluntary movement and progressively die in people with ALS.

A new study is investigating the longer-term effects — over a one-year period — of the therapy candidate reldesemtiv in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Cytokinetics has launched an open-label extension (OLE) study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of reldesemtiv over a longer course in patients…

Note: This story was updated June 16, 2022, to reflect that competitor Kyle Brown was not disqualified, but did not finish the swim portion of the Ironman World Championship within the time limit and was not able to move forward in the competition.   Patrick Harfield was on his last legs.

Radicava ORS, an oral formulation of edaravone recently approved to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the U.S., was safe and generally well-tolerated over almost a year of treatment in a Phase 3 clinical trial, new data highlight. The results were presented by the therapy’s developer, Mitsubishi Tanabe…

AKAVA Therapeutics’ experimental therapy AKV9, formerly NU-9, was superior to approved therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at improving the health of lab-grown upper motor neurons from a mouse model of the disease, a study shows. Upper motor neurons are one of the two types of specialized nerve cells that…

As I left our house to get the kids from school, the tree was gone. A contractor’s crew was removing brush from the ditch with an excavator to extend the culvert that passed under our driveway. My husband, Todd, had specifically asked that the poplar tree be left alone. I…