A cancer therapy called imatinib mesylate (sold under the brand name Gleevec) has the potential to slow progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and extend survival, research in mice shows. The findings, “Cancer Drug Repurposing for Treating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),” were presented at the 2019…
Biogen’s investigational therapy tofersen can significantly reduce toxic levels of SOD1 protein and may slow disability progression in people with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by SOD1 mutations, interim study results show. The positive data from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial support advancing the experimental compound into Phase 3 studies…
Accumulation of TDP-43 protein is known to drive neurodegeneration associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Now, researchers have found that targeting the structure of TDP-43 and blocking its normal activity can halt the death of nerve cells linked to TDP-43 accumulation in ALS and FTD models. The…
Continuing its support for a potential therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Australia-based organization FightMND has granted about $700,000 to biopharmaceutical company Collaborative Medicinal Development. The money will fund a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of CuATSM, one of CMD’s lead investigational therapies. According to a news release, the…
Project ALS and Columbia University are launching a new platform with a goal of discovering more useful treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, and pushing the most promising candidates to clinical trials. Core, as it…
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurological disease that affects motor neurons or nerve cells that control muscle movement. There is currently no cure for ALS but there are experimental treatments, including gene therapy. ALS and genetics In ALS, some genes are known to be modified or mutated, which…
Aquestive’s new drug application for Exservan — an investigational oral film of riluzole to be used as an add-on therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — has been accepted by the U.S. Food…
Recently, I attended an “Ask the Experts” educational seminar sponsored by my local chapter of the ALS Association. It’s an annual event that presents current information on ALS-related topics and allows attendees to exchange ideas with fellow ALS patients. This year’s theme was “ALS clinical trials…
The most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disrupts the shape and workings of a compartment inside a cell’s nucleus, researchers report, detailing a discovery that helps to explain how this mutation prompts cell death in ALS. Abnormalities resulting from this mutation, specifically the length of the…
As many as a third of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also have symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, which may be due to differences in brain activity between those with and without these symptoms, a study reports. The study, “Parkinsonian traits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis…
