Researchers at the University of Michigan are focused on establishing cause and effect relationships between environmental and occupational exposures with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). They hope this information will shed light on the mechanisms behind the disease and identify modifiable risk factors, which may have implications in preventing ALS.

“Clustering” people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) based on biological data could be useful for identifying those most likely to have slower or faster progressing disease, a new study shows. The findings were presented in a talk, “Fast Progression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Pathways and Biomarkers…

Note: Frontiers in Genetics, the publisher of the study discussed in this ALS News Today news story, received a request from the article’s authors to retract it in light of new information indicating that the variants reported in the study might not be meaningful; instead, they may actually result from…

The ALS Association is calling for applications for a new Seed Grant Program designed to support exploratory amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. The one-year grants of up to $50,000 each will fund investigations that could have a significant impact on the progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Specifically, funded projects…

Shortly after Jeremy Schreiber, then 39, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he had another life-altering decision to make. “I had a choice — climb into bed and pull the covers over my head or say ‘[expletive] it’ and fight this thing head-on,” Schreiber wrote in an excerpt…

Occupational exposure to lead — a heavy metal — prior to disease onset is associated with a more severe disease progression and lower survival among people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a recent study. “In survival analysis of an international cohort [group] of ALS cases, our results…

The Canadian province of British Columbia is giving another CA$2 million (about $1.65 million) to help establish “Project Hope” — what organizers hope will be a world-class amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) center at the University of British Columbia (UBC). With the new funding, to the ALS Society…

The Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship Fund wants to help support students who wish to pursue undergraduate studies, but whose families have been impacted financially by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This is the fourth year The ALS Association, together with Mark Calmes, is offering support to U.S. post-high…

The experimental therapy WVE-004 appears to be engaging its intended target and reducing the amount of toxic proteins in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and/or frontotemporal dementia (FTD) caused by mutations in the C9orf72 gene, according to early data from the FOCUS-C9 clinical trial. The trial is currently recruiting adults,…

Blocking channels containing the connexin 43 (Cx43) protein on astrocytes — a type of nerve support cell — slowed disease progression in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a study found. The protein was found to be increased in ALS patient tissues and spinal fluid, and its…