An oral suspension form of Radicava (edaravone), an approved treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was favored for patient reimbursement in Canada by a branch of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). The opinion issued by the CADTH Canadian Drug Expert Committee recommended that Radicava Oral…

The ALS Association is urging Congress to pass legislation that would waive the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) five-month waiting period for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Under the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2017, people with ALS could immediately begin receiving SSDI, which in turn qualifies patients to get…

People who eat fish and seafood containing high concentrations of mercury may be more likely to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a new preliminary study suggests. Researchers will present their study’s findings at the American Academy of Neurology’s 69th Annual Meeting, set for April 22-28 in Boston. The question isn’t whether people should…

The Duke University ALS Clinic and the Freelon Foundation have announced a partnership to expand the school’s research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The partnership will involve establishing an endowed professorship, providing funding for clinical trials, and increasing the number of patients the clinic can treat. Phil Freelon, who founded the Freelon Foundation…

A new program at the University of Pennsylvania will pursue ways to use gene therapy and genome editing to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Program of Excellence for Motor Neuron Disease, launched by researchers at the Orphan Disease Center (ODC) in the university’s Perelman School of Medicine, will receive…

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History opened its long-term exhibition “Giving in America” on Nov. 29 to display the history of philanthropy’s role in shaping the United States. The collection includes one of the first buckets that tied the Ice Bucket Challenge to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis…

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has recognized Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada, as a Centre of Excellence for accelerating research progress through collaboration to treat diseases like those of the central nervous system, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “With an unparalleled team of scientists and clinicians, Sunnybrook…

Cytokinetics has enrolled the first patient in the VIGOR-ALS extension trial (NCT02936635), which will assess the effects of tirasemtiv in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who participated in the Phase 3 VITALITY-ALS (NCT02496767) study. Tirasemtiv is a novel skeletal muscle activator that triggers the muscle troponin complex, increasing…

The Les Turner ALS Foundation had about 7,000 people on more than 200 teams support those affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the Les Turner ALS Walk for Life, held Sept. 18 in Chicago. The Les Turner ALS Foundation was founded in 1977 to support research, patient care, and education about…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated  MediciNova’s Ibudilast (MN-166) an orphan drug as a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Ibudilast is a first-in-class, orally bioavailable small molecule phosphodiesterase (PDE)-4 and -10 inhibitor and a macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitor that suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines and promotes neurotrophic factors.