Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis News and Research

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hUCBs and MenSCs transplant may offer future therapeutic benefit for AD, stroke, ALS

Transplanting stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood cells and menstrual blood cells may offer future therapeutic benefit for those suffering from stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, says a team of neuroscience researchers from the University of South Florida's Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and collaborators from three private-sector research groups, Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., Tampa, FL, Cryo-Cell International, Inc., Oldsmar, FL, and Cryopraxis, Cell Praxis, BioRio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

Viruses that are natural part of human genome may retrovirus culprit

A retrovirus that inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease. The finding, made by Johns Hopkins scientists, may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition.

2 Mar 2011

BrainStorm raises $3.6 million through private placement financing

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, announced today that it has entered into securities purchase agreements with certain institutional and other investors in connection with a private placement financing in reliance upon Regulation S. BrainStorm received gross proceeds of approximately $3.6 million resulting from the sale of shares at a purchase price of $0.28 per share at the closing of the transaction.

28 Feb 2011

Aestus commences ATx08-001 phase 2 trial to evaluate efficacy of novel pain therapeutic

Aestus Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that it has initiated screening of patients for a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of its novel pain therapeutic, ATx08-001. This placebo-controlled, two-dose level study will test the efficacy of ATx08-001 in reducing the pain following an outbreak of shingles.

23 Feb 2011

FDA grants BrainStorm's NurOwn orphan drug designation for treatment of ALS

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the Company's NurOwn™ autologous adult stem cell product candidate for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

14 Feb 2011

Neuralstem updates progress of ongoing clinical trial of spinal cord stem cells in treatment of ALS

Neuralstem, Inc. updated the progress of its ongoing Phase I human clinical trial of the company's spinal cord stem cells in the treatment of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

11 Feb 2011

FDA grants Neuralstem orphan drug designation for treatment of ALS with spinal cord stem cells

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Orphan Products Development has granted it orphan drug designation for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with its human spinal cord derived neural stem cells (NSI-566RSC), currently in a Phase I safety study to evaluate the safety of the product and the surgical route of administration in a wide range of ALS patients.

10 Feb 2011

Two new studies report GOT may improve health outcomes of stroke patients

Much of the devastation of stroke and head trauma is due to damage caused the overproduction of a substance in the brain called glutamate. Preventing this damage has been impossible, until now, as many drugs don't cross the so-called blood-brain barrier, and those that do often don't work as intended. But a method originally devised at the Weizmann Institute of Science may, in the future, offer a way to avert such glutamate-induced harm.

9 Feb 2011

USPTO issues patent for Metabolon's UHPLC/MSn-based analytical platform

Metabolon, the leader in metabolomics, biomarker discovery and analysis, announced today the grant of US Patent No. 7,884,318 entitled "Systems, Methods, and Computer-Readable Medium for Determining Composition of Chemical Constituents in a Complex Mixture".

8 Feb 2011

CMD co-founder receives Prize4Life award for discovery of new ALS biomarker

Convergence Medical Devices (CMD) today announced that its co-founder, Dr. Seward Rutkove, Chief of the Division of Neuromuscular Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, received Prize4Life's prestigious award for the discovery of a new biomarker for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

7 Feb 2011

Biogen Idec 2010 total revenues increase 8% to $4.7 billion

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its full year and fourth quarter 2010 results.

1 Feb 2011

AVANIR's NUEDEXTA for pseudobulbar affect now available by prescription

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that NUEDEXTA™ (dextromethorphan hydrobromide and quinidine sulfate) is now available by prescription in the United States. NUEDEXTA is the first and only treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pseudobulbar affect (PBA).

1 Feb 2011

ALS Biopharma receives ADDF grant to develop therapeutics against Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation announced today that it has awarded a grant of $195,000 to ALS Biopharma, LLC to develop therapeutics targeted at clearing toxic proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

28 Jan 2011

Mutated TDP-43 can cause neurons to die: Study

Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration are characterized by protein clumps in brain and spinal-cord cells that include an RNA-binding protein called TDP-43. This protein is the major building block of the lesions formed by these clumps.

6 Jan 2011

Spirulina dietary supplement may provide clinical benefits for ALS patients

Nutritional supplementation with Spirulina, a nutrient-rich, blue-green algae, appeared to provide neuroprotective support for dying motor neurons in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, University of South Florida neuroscientists have found.

21 Dec 2010

Biogen Idec acquires Neurimmune subsidiary

Biogen Idec and Neurimmune Holding AG today announced that Biogen Idec has acquired a subsidiary of Neurimmune, which includes the world-wide rights to three pre-clinical immunotherapy programs. The three programs are focused on the discovery and development of novel human antibodies that address three central nervous system (CNS) targets: alpha-synuclein, tau and TDP-43.

21 Dec 2010

Improved brain-machine technologies

A new study published in the Dec 15 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience found that monkeys were able to move thought-controlled computer cursors more quickly and accurately when provided with additional sensory feedback.

19 Dec 2010

SBUMC to rename and dedicate ALS clinic as Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence

For Chris Pendergast, every Christmas he has been alive to celebrate with his family for the past 17 years has been a gift unto itself. Indeed, in 1993 the then 44-year-old elementary school teacher from Miller Place on Long Island was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - ALS - the always fatal degenerative neuromuscular disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was told that he had, at best, three to five years to live.

15 Dec 2010

VCP gene causes some instances of familial ALS: Researchers

Using a new gene sequencing method, a team of researchers led by scientists from Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health has discovered a gene that appears to cause some instances of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The finding could lead to novel ways to treat the more common form of this fatal neurodegenerative disease, which kills the vast majority of the nearly 6,000 Americans diagnosed with ALS every year.

10 Dec 2010