“So, round and around and around we go, Where the world’s headed, nobody knows. Oh, great googa-mooga, can’t you hear me talking to you? Just a ball of confusion, Oh yeah, that’s what the world is today.” The Temptations song “Ball of Confusion” was released in 1970, following the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Prilenia’s pridopidine for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The decision follows a recent positive opinion from a branch of the European Medicines Agency recommending the treatment be given orphan drug status in…

Using motor neurons derived from people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a promising approach to screen for molecules that prevent certain disease mechanisms, and to identify new targets for therapies, according to a recent study. Two classes of therapies were identified that might lessen the excessive firing of motor…

Knowing that so much is riding on me creates a lot of pressure. I don’t get sick days, vacation, or weekends off. Taking time off to attend to my health issues requires finding and paying for caregivers for my husband, Todd, who is paralyzed due to ALS. For example, I…

I’ll admit to hearing voices — the voices in my head, that is. We’re all listening to our mental voices. It’s the constant chatter of inner dialogue or self-talk that leapfrogs through our thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas. Mostly the chatter is background noise, accompanying our daily activities and conversations.

“I am so sick of being sick,” Todd said. He’s having trouble kicking this bug that he’s been fighting for two weeks. His lungs keep filling with mucus, and I keep clearing them out. Just when we think he’s on the road to recovery because he has a long stretch…

A branch of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended that Prilenia’s investigational therapy pridopidine be designated an orphan medicine to treat people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Medicines with the potential to become safe and effective treatments for rare, life-threatening, or chronically debilitating conditions affecting no more than one…

“It wasn’t me she was foolin’, ‘Cause she knew what was she was doin’, When she told me how to walk this way.” Run-DMC’s hip hop adaptation of the Aerosmith classic “Walk This Way” conjures up images of every therapy session I’ve had during the ALS portion of my…

At its first virtual investor event, biotech company Centogene set a bold mission: to cure 100 rare diseases within the next decade. A leader in the field of genetic diagnostics, Centogene used the June 22 event to present its strategic priorities, outlining its plans to speed the discovery…

The other day while watching TV, I heard the newscaster announce, “We’re in the ‘new normal’ folks, and everybody wants to get out and travel again!” “Well, I don’t,” I thought, and just as quickly wondered, “Am I the only one who doesn’t feel comfortable yet to go out…