Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), marketed by Novartis, is an oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating certain types of cancer, such as leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Gleevec also is being investigated in preclinical studies as a potential treatment for…
While genetics alone do not cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a large number of genetic mutations have been associated with the neurodegenerative disease. Such mutations can increase a person’s risk of developing ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which affects motor neurons, the nerve cells that…
Ludwig Cancer Research scientist Don Cleveland has received a $3 million Breakthrough Prize for increasing science’s understanding of how an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis develops. His work focused on glia, cells that support the body’s production of a protein called myelin, which protects nerve cells. Deterioration of myelin…
Neurimmune and Ono Pharmaceutical have entered a strategic partnership to develop human-derived monoclonal antibodies that might become the basis of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Under the terms of the agreement, Neurimmune will lead research to generate and validate these antibodies using…
Severe DNA damage and other disease-associated hallmarks are absent in a mouse model of familial amyothrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS), a new study shows. The study, “DNA strand breaks and TDP-43 mislocation are absent in the murine hSOD1G93A model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in vivo and in vitro,” appeared in the journal…
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons, or nerve cells that control muscle movement, causing their death. Rilutek (riluzole), Tiglutik (riluzole oral suspension), and Radicava (edaravone) are the only medications currently approved to treat…
The former malaria therapy pyrimethamine reduces levels of an ALS-linked protein in the spinal fluid of patients whose disease stems from gene mutations, a Phase 1/2 clinical trial shows. The protein is SOD1. The mutations connected with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are in the SOD1 gene that controls the protein. The…
The biopharma Neurimmune and the venture capital fund TVM Life Science Ventures VII announced they have created a Swiss company called AL-S Pharma AG to develop a new therapy for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). AL-S Pharma AG is a special purpose company formed to develop one compound — AP-101…
Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan, in collaboration with several U.S. institutions, suggest that the collapse of the mitochondria‐associated membranes (MAM) is linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Mitochondria‐associated membranes regulate calcium levels, mitochondrial function, and cell death in the body, and have been linked to neurodegenerative…
Scientists at Umeå University have found that superoxide dysmutase (SOD1), a protein that may cause amylotophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) spreads and clumps when injected into mice. The protein deposits also cause ALS-like symptoms. The report, titled “Two superoxide dismutase prion strains transmit amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like disease” appeared May 3, 2016…
