Targeting two particular proteins, called H1.2 and PARP1, may lessen the severity of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) linked to mutations in the FUS gene, a study shows. Researchers found that a severe FUS mutation increased the interaction of the resulting FUS protein with both H1.2 and PARP1, which is involved in…

Dewpoint Therapeutics has won a second grant from Target ALS Foundation to advance preclinical studies of its experimental TDP-43-targeted therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). TDP-43 is a protein that often gets mislocalized within cells in ALS and forms into toxic clumps that contribute to neurodegeneration. Dewpoint’s…

A consortium of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) nonprofits and industry stakeholders has launched Project Mosaic, an initiative that aims to advance next-generation, patient-derived cell models that more accurately represent ALS’ complex and diverse nature. By moving these ALS models from academic labs to industry, Project Mosaic aims to…

Among the many challenges I experienced during my early months with ALS was the eerie prophecy of a life expectancy of two to five years following diagnosis. Besides putting the brakes on all of my future hopes and dreams, it made my brain feel worthless. I’d ask myself,…

Two amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) centers are backing an initiative aimed at accelerating and improving ALS research. The Acceleration Centers of Enrollment (ACE) initiative, led by the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine and the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, will…

Were you able to watch the recent Paris Olympics? I did, and I’ll admit I tuned in nearly every day. But I wasn’t always such a die-hard fan. Oh, I used to look forward to watching them — until I was diagnosed with ALS in 2010. Abruptly, I felt…

People with higher levels of certain metals in their blood and urine are more likely to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a U.S. study reports. Findings also suggest that, among ALS patients, higher metal levels linked with significantly poorer long-term survival. “By measuring [blood] and urine metal levels, we…

A brain-computer interface allowed Casey Harrell, a 45-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) whose disease had made it nearly impossible to speak, to communicate through a computer that used his own voice. Harrell’s experience in the ongoing pilot BrainGate2 clinical trial (NCT00912041) was described in the study,…

I’m writing this column while gazing out over a foggy Pacific Ocean, aboard a ship that’s taking a group of us from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to the icy waters of Glacier Bay, Alaska, and back. Intermittently on this voyage, pods of porpoises come racing close by the ship, and…

A researcher at Penn State University has received a $250,000 grant for an innovative project that seeks to identify and develop small molecules with the potential to protect nerve cells in neurodegenerative conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The grant was awarded by the nonprofit Critical Path Institute…