Researchers at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan, reviewed advances for using natural plant compounds to regulate autophagy, a process in the development of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular atrophies, spinocerebellar ataxia 3, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The review “Natural compounds preventing…

A group of women in their 60s decided to go full Monty to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The idea came from lifelong friends of Wendy Rauwerdink of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, who had diagnosed with the disease. Her friends became engaged in the fight, always wanting to do more.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Barcelona in Spain studied the contribution of cellular redox environment changes to the stability and integrity of SOD1, a protein implicated in the development and progression of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A key finding was that mutations in the…

Researchers at the University of California-Riverside have shown, for the first time, that infection from the common parasite Toxoplasma gondii disrupts neurotransmitter glutamate function in the brain, potentially leading to neuronal death and neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in individuals predisposed to such conditions. The research paper, “…

Researchers from the Institute of Drug Research at the The Hebrew University in Israel have revealed that patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have low levels of the anti-inflammatory protein alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The findings have been published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation in the study…

Rapporteurs appointed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have recommended that AB Science SA’s combined treatment ‘masitinib with riluzole’ in the treatment of adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) should be filed for conditional marketing authorization. AB Science specializes in developing and marketing protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs), a class of targeted proteins…

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers analyzed the genotype data of thousands of ALS patients, with the objective of identifying gene variants that influence survival in ALS. The genome-wide association study identified two novel loci that significantly influence patient survival. These key findings help researchers better understand the biology of the disease…

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) severely burdens skeletal muscles, while eye muscles remain far less affected. Vahid M. Harandi, a doctoral student at Umea University in Sweden, and his colleagues are focusing on the specific proteins involved in both areas’ response to ALS in an effort to better understand the pathophysiology…

Blood serum levels of progranulin, a key protein to both neuronal survival and neurodegenerative diseases, are not adequate measures of progranulin levels in the brain. As such, they cannot serve as a biomarker for diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers report in a study titled “Serum Levels of Progranulin…

New Pensacola, Florida-based aerospace company Gulf Coast Aerospace Partners is the presenting sponsor of the first annual Gulf Coast Celebrity Classic to Raise Awareness and Funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. It tees off May 28 at Perdido Bay Golf Club in Perdido Key, Florida. Also…