Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis News and Research

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Aggregation of SOD1 protein in nerve cells can lead to ALS

Persons with the serious disorder ALS, can have a genetic mutation that causes the protein SOD1 to aggregate in motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Researchers at Umea University have discovered that, when injected into mice, the SOD1 aggregation spreads rapidly leading to ALS. The discovery has been described in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

4 May 2016

Riluzole drug can reverse key genetic changes linked to Alzheimer's disease

Aging takes its toll on the brain, and the cells of the hippocampus--a brain region with circuitry crucial to learning and memory--are particularly vulnerable to changes that can lead to Alzheimer's disease or cognitive decline. With the hope of counteracting the changes that can lead to these two conditions, researchers at Rockefeller University and their colleagues have begun examining the effects of a drug known to affect this circuitry.

4 May 2016

New miniaturized microscope offers unprecedented insight into nervous system function

A microscope about the size of a penny is giving scientists a new window into the everyday activity of cells within the spinal cord. The innovative technology revealed that astrocytes--cells in the nervous system that do not conduct electrical signals and were traditionally viewed as merely supportive--unexpectedly react to intense sensation.

28 Apr 2016

Unique mouse model could help study genetic origins and potential treatments for ALS

University of Florida Health researchers have developed a unique mouse model that will allow researchers around the world to better study the genetic origins and potential treatments for a neurodegenerative brain disease that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, and frontotemporal dementia.

22 Apr 2016

Combination of sugar and polyphenols may prevent occurrence of neurodegenerative disease

Catherine Aaron and Gabrielle Beaudry were 17 when they knocked on the door of the laboratory of Alex Parker, a neuroscience researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre. While students at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montreal, they were looking for a mentor for an after-school research project. Two and half years later, the results of this scientific adventure were published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

13 Apr 2016

Brain's immune cells play direct role in development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Cedars-Sinai research scientists have found that immune cells in the brain play a direct role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, offering hope for new therapies to target the neurodegenerative disease that gradually leads to paralysis and death.

18 Mar 2016

UC San Diego researchers use CRISPR-Cas9 system to target RNA in living cells for first time ever

The genetic code stored in DNA determines everything from the color of our eyes to our susceptibility to disease. This has motivated scientists to sequence the human genome and develop ways to alter the genetic code, but many diseases are linked to a different fundamental molecule: RNA.

18 Mar 2016

New scaffold technology could someday help treat Parkinson's disease, other brain-related conditions

Scientists at Rutgers and Stanford universities have created a new technology that could someday help treat Parkinson's disease and other devastating brain-related conditions that affect millions of people.

18 Mar 2016

CIRM approves $6.3 million grant to support research on novel stem cell-based therapy for ALS

The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine approved yesterday a $6.3 million grant to a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and University of California, Davis to pursue a novel human embryonic stem cell-based therapy to rescue and restore neurons devastated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS.

18 Mar 2016

WSU researcher explores new drugs to treat neurological disorders linked to autophagic dysfunction

Repairing the brain's "house-cleaning function," which could help people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 100 other diseases, is the focus of recently funded research at Washington State University.

17 Mar 2016

TSRI researchers uncover new molecular mechanism underlying neurodegenerative diseases

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute suggests that cells construct protein "clumps" to protect against neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a.k.a. ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

10 Mar 2016

Long-term exercise may benefit Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

Long-term exercise appears to be beneficial for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) like mice, suggesting a potential of active physiotherapy for patient care; according to a study published today in the Journal of Physiology.

6 Mar 2016

Cardiac drug combats muscle cramps in ALS

A phase II study shows that the sodium channel blocker mexiletine has no specific safety concerns in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and, moreover, markedly reduces muscle cramps.

1 Mar 2016

Small peptide TAxI holds promise for carrying biologic drugs into spinal cord

A small peptide dubbed TAxI is living up to its name. Recent studies show it to be an effective vehicle for shuttling functional proteins, such as active enzymes, into the spinal cord after a muscle injection.

17 Feb 2016

Scientists discover role of nucleocytoplasmic transport in specific forms of ALS and FTD

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two devastating adult-onset neurodegenerative disorders.

15 Feb 2016

Mayo Clinic researchers uncover clues to apraxia of speech

It may start with a simple word you can't pronounce. Your tongue and lips stumble, and gibberish comes out. Misspeaking might draw a chuckle from family and friends. But, then, it keeps happening. Progressively, more and more speech is lost. Some patients eventually become mute from primary progressive apraxia of speech, a disorder related to degenerative neurologic disease.

15 Feb 2016

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to specifically modify gene expression in diseased upper motor neurons, brain cells that break down in ALS.

1 Feb 2016

New treatment could stop progression of ALS

Researchers at Oregon State University announced today that they have essentially stopped the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, for nearly two years in one type of mouse model used to study the disease - allowing the mice to approach their normal lifespan.

29 Jan 2016

Stem cell transplantation of neurotrophic factors shows promise in ALS

Mesenchymal stem cells cultured to secrete neurotrophic factors can be administered to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis without lasting unwanted effects and may have clinical benefits, indicates a phase I/II safety analysis study.

19 Jan 2016

Researchers identify protein that could protect against toxic degeneration of cells in ALS

J. Gavin Daigle, a PhD candidate at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Graduate Studies, is the first author of a paper whose findings reveal another piece of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) puzzle.

19 Jan 2016

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis News and Research

Aggregation of SOD1 protein in nerve cells can lead to ALS

Riluzole drug can reverse key genetic changes linked to Alzheimer's disease

New miniaturized microscope offers unprecedented insight into nervous system function

Unique mouse model could help study genetic origins and potential treatments for ALS

Combination of sugar and polyphenols may prevent occurrence of neurodegenerative disease

Brain's immune cells play direct role in development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

UC San Diego researchers use CRISPR-Cas9 system to target RNA in living cells for first time ever

New scaffold technology could someday help treat Parkinson's disease, other brain-related conditions

CIRM approves $6.3 million grant to support research on novel stem cell-based therapy for ALS

WSU researcher explores new drugs to treat neurological disorders linked to autophagic dysfunction

TSRI researchers uncover new molecular mechanism underlying neurodegenerative diseases

Long-term exercise may benefit Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

Cardiac drug combats muscle cramps in ALS

Small peptide TAxI holds promise for carrying biologic drugs into spinal cord

Scientists discover role of nucleocytoplasmic transport in specific forms of ALS and FTD

Mayo Clinic researchers uncover clues to apraxia of speech

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

New treatment could stop progression of ALS

Stem cell transplantation of neurotrophic factors shows promise in ALS

Researchers identify protein that could protect against toxic degeneration of cells in ALS

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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