A research team at Penn Medicine recently found that hypermethylation is able to inhibit the development of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) in a study titled, “C9orf72 promoter hypermethylation is neuroprotective: Neuroimaging and neuropathologic evidence.” The results are published in the journal…

Results from a recent Phase I clinical trial in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) showed a safe cell therapy approach that may allow for the treatment of larger pools of patients for later-phase ALS trials. The study is published in the Journal of Translational Medicine.

The Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SMBT) 12th Annual World Congress Black Tie Gala was held on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, during which the Society awarded the “Beacon of Courage and Dedication Award” to Professor Stephen Hawking — a living ALS medical miracle. Recorded on…

‘My-own-voice,’ a system for patients who are losing their ability to speak due to diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to record and later use their voice to communicate, was presented at the Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN). The Acapela…

Investigators at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine are currently enrolling participants for a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00821132), that aims to identify genes that increase risk for sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or cause inherited ALS. The study, entitled “Identification of Genes Causing Familial ALS or Increasing Risk…

BioMotiv is a drug advancement accelerator associated with The Harrington Project, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and University of Washington, Seattle working on breakthrough discoveries and new therapeutics that have the potential to address unmet clinical needs. Recently, the accelerator announced the creation of a platform company, OptiKira, that will…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. received nearly $1.1 million in funding from Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) to support the development of NurOwn™, BrainStorm’s therapeutic platform for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). BrainStorm is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of innovative adult…

Active Biotech, a Sweden-based biopharmaceutical company that is developing therapies for autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancers, recently announced that it is partnering with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to develop a new, experimental drug for treating Huntington’s disease. The two companies will work together to launch a new phase 2 clinical trial…

Nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD) patients living in the European Union may soon experience relief from their condition due to the European Commission granting PTC Therapeutics, Inc. conditional marketing for Translarna™ (ataluren). PTC Therapeutics may now market Translarna in the 28 Member States of…