Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) News and Research

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Novel finding that links ALS/ataxia to cellular stress opens door to new treatment approaches

Few treatments exist for neurodegenerative diseases that progressively rob a person's ability to move and think, yet the results of a new study could potentially open additional approaches for exploration.

7 Sep 2018

Scientists discover ALS disease mechanism

A mechanism for how the disease ALS evolves has been discovered at Umeå University, Sweden. The discovery concerns how proteins with a defect structure spread the deformation to other proteins. This according to results in a new thesis.

4 Sep 2018

Study: First independent in-home use of brain-computer interface by ALS patients shows promise

Laboratory studies have shown the potential for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, who cannot move or speak, to communicate using a brain-computer interface.

30 Aug 2018

Clinical trial: Promising drug slows brain shrinkage in progressive MS patients

A promising drug slowed brain shrinkage in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) by nearly half, according to new research led by Cleveland Clinic. Very limited therapies are currently available for this disabling form of the disease.

30 Aug 2018

Proteins that protect neurons from destruction can be delivered through nose

Protective proteins that mitigate the destruction of nerve cells after a stroke can be administered into the brain through the nose, as Heidelberg University researchers demonstrated using a mouse model.

24 Aug 2018

MDA announces 34 new grants totaling $9.9 million to accelerate neuromuscular research

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today announced the award of 34 new grants totaling more than $9.9 million for its summer round of funding. These new grants represent a continued commitment by MDA to fund groundbreaking research that will accelerate treatments and cures for the more than 40 diseases in its program.

24 Aug 2018

Study provides new clues to connection between aging and neurodegeneration

For decades researchers have worked to shed light on the causes of neurodegenerative disorders, a group of devastating conditions, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, that involve the progressive loss of neurons and nervous system function. In recent years, numerous factors, from genetic mutations to viral infections, have been found to contribute to the development of these diseases.

23 Aug 2018

PARP inhibitors show promise for treating and preventing brain disorders

A class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors could be useful for treating and preventing brain disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, and some forms of frontotemporal degeneration, by halting the misplacement of specific proteins that affect nerve cells, according to a study published in Molecular Cell by researchers in the the School of Arts and Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Aug 2018

Newer version of ALS drug may effectively treat inherited form of the disease

NIH-funded researchers delayed signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in rodents by injecting them with a second-generation drug designed to silence the gene, superoxide dismutase 1.

27 Jul 2018

Researchers gain more insight into how FUS protein causes ALS and FTLD

The mutated and aggregated protein FUS is implicated in two neurodegenerative diseases: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

19 Jul 2018

Researchers identify new compound that protects against neurodegeneration

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have identified a new compound that protects against neurodegeneration in nematode worms. The discovery may enable novel treatments for human neurodegenerative diseases to be developed in the future.

18 Jul 2018

Study finds that several existing anti-cancer drugs may work in part by binding to RNA

Bolstering the notion that RNA should be considered an important drug-discovery target, scientists at Scripps Research have found that several existing, FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs may work, in part, by binding tightly to RNA, the regulators of the basic activities of life within cells.

30 Jun 2018

UC Riverside researcher receives grants to advance cancer, ALS research

Maurizio Pellecchia, who holds the Daniel Hays Chair in Cancer Research at the University of California, Riverside, has received two grants to continue his research aimed at finding therapeutics for cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

21 Jun 2018

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals wins NINDS grant to advance novel therapies for ALS

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals, leaders in stress granule biology, an exciting new target for the development of neurodegenerative therapeutics, announced today that it has been awarded $3.4 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in a competing grant to advance novel therapeutic drug candidates towards the clinic for treating patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

21 Jun 2018

Study unravels how nuclear pore complexes transport mRNAs out of the nucleus

Standing guard between a cell's nucleus and its main chamber, called the cytoplasm, are thousands of behemoth protein structures called nuclear pore complexes, or NPCs.

13 Jun 2018

Study could open up new treatment approaches for neurodegenerative diseases

Cell biologists have deepened understanding of proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. The findings could open up new treatment approaches for disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), among others.

31 May 2018

Researchers seek new approaches to better protect the eye from glaucoma

Under the increased pressure of glaucoma, scientists want to help the neurons in our eyes better protect themselves and get better help from their friends.

29 May 2018

Researchers work together to solve mystery of motor neuron death in ALS patients

As the old adage goes, 'two heads are better than one'. With the development of new technologies and increasingly specialist expertise, ground-breaking science needs to be a team effort.

25 May 2018

Study identifies new mechanism involved in development of Lou Gehrig's disease

A new Tel Aviv University study identifies a previously unknown mechanism involved in the development of Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

23 May 2018

Small part of cellular protein that helps form long-term memories also drives neurodegeneration

Scientists have just discovered that a small region of a cellular protein that helps long-term memories form also drives the neurodegeneration seen in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This small part of the Ataxin-2 protein thus works for good and for bad.

23 May 2018