Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis News and Research

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Study analyzes the role of circular RNA in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS, is a neurodegenerative disorder which affects motor neurons. These are the neuronal cells responsible for muscle innervation, whose degenerations leads to progressive paralysis culminating with motor and respiratory failure.

21 Dec 2021

Ophthalmology professor receives $75,000 grant to support international collaborations on eye research

Steven DeVries, MD, PhD, the David Shoch, MD, PhD, professor of Ophthalmology, has received an International Research Collaborators Award from Research to Prevent Blindness.

14 Dec 2021

New prototype enables people with severely impaired motor skills to communicate with others

A research team from the University of Malaga has developed a prototype that combines scalp sensors and a graphical interface to enable people with severely impaired motor skills to communicate with others.

13 Dec 2021

Scientists determine structure of the molecule associated with ALS for the first time

Scientists have determined for the first time the structure of the molecule associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple other neurodegenerative diseases.

9 Dec 2021

Targeting the brain should be the focus of ALS therapy, not just spinal cord

The brain is indeed a target for treating ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered.

4 Dec 2021

Fast-tracked human stroke drug may also be a safe and powerful defense against dementia

A human stroke drug, fast-tracked by the Food and Drug Administration and soon entering Phase 3 clinical trials, shows intriguing signs that it might also be a safe and powerful defense against Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

1 Dec 2021

Repurposed ALS drug could slow gradual brain cell loss in Niemann-Pick disease type C1

Riluzole, a drug approved to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease affecting nerve cells controlling movement, could slow the gradual loss of a particular brain cell that occurs in Niemann-Pick disease type C1 (NPC1), a rare genetic disorder affecting children and adolescents, suggests a study in mice by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

20 Nov 2021

ALS also causes retinal alterations, study reveals

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), characterized by harm to brain neurons and to the spinal cord, also affects the tissue of the retina, according to a study headed up by Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

16 Nov 2021

Study offers new insight into the role of tau proteins in ALS pathogenesis

A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital has shown that people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, who carry a mutation in the C9orf72 gene exhibit elevated levels of tau and phosphorylated tau protein in the motor cortex region of the brain.

15 Nov 2021

Inflammatory chemicals involved in fat metabolism play key role in ALS, study shows

A new study using genetically engineered mice and human cell and tissue samples has added to evidence that higher levels of inflammatory chemicals involved in fat metabolism occur in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the neuromuscular disorder, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

15 Nov 2021

Identifying an important protein for motor coordination

News-Medical speaks to Professor Jorge Ruas about how he has identified an important protein involved in motor coordination.

10 Nov 2021

Study reveals the role of SPOP protein in an inherited form of ALS

The damaging effects of toxic proteins created in one inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are mediated by a protein called SPOP, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences.

8 Nov 2021

Research may provide clues to how viral infections contribute to neurodegeneration

Some viral diseases could possibly contribute to neurodegeneration. DZNE researchers report this in the scientific journal "Nature Communications".

19 Oct 2021

Researchers discover molecules in the blood that can indicate impending dementia

Researchers at the DZNE and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have identified molecules in the blood that can indicate impending dementia. Their findings, which are presented in the scientific journal "EMBO Molecular Medicine", are based on human studies and laboratory experiments. Various university hospitals across Germany were also involved in the investigations.

11 Oct 2021

Methylation of TDP-43 DNA linked to age-dependent motor cortex involvement in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an intractable neurological disease. Aging is a risk factor for the accumulation of TDP-43 (transduction responsive region DNA-binding protein of 43kDa) in the motor cortex. TDP-43 is a protein that tends to accumulate in increasing amounts, and the amount is strictly controlled by the splicing of TDP-43. Through cell experiments and analysis of human brain tissue, researchers at Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, led by Akihiro Sugai, M.D., Ph.D., have found that methylation of TDP-43 DNA is involved in the background of motor cortex involvement with aging in ALS

29 Sep 2021

Small molecule drug can attenuate the triggers of neuroinflammation, preclinical study shows

Neuroinflammation can worsen outcomes in stroke, traumatic brain injury, or spinal cord injury, as well as accelerate neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. This suggests that limiting neuroinflammation may represent a promising new approach to treat neurological diseases and neuropathic pain that are driven by neuroinflammation.

24 Sep 2021

Novel cell reprogramming offers a promising therapeutic strategy to slow down glioblastomas

Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults. Among them, high-grade glioblastomas (GBMs) are particularly known to be notoriously aggressive and invasive, which makes it challenging to treat them. The disease rapidly progresses to an advanced stage in a short span of time, and the survival of such patients is often dismal.

16 Sep 2021

Blood lipid biomarkers associated with lower risk of ALS

Some blood lipid biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease risk are also associated with a lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest the findings of a large epidemiology study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

14 Sep 2021

Study finds possible direct connection between neurodegenerative diseases and the herpesvirus

A new study by researchers at University of Illinois Chicago suggests that when the protein optineurin, or OPTN, is present in cells it restricts the spread of HSV-1, the herpes simplex virus type 1.

13 Sep 2021

Research uncovers test to identify iMCD patients with superior response to FDA-approved treatment

New research has uncovered a precision medicine test using blood proteins to identify a novel patient subgroup of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD), a rare blood disorder, who are more likely to respond to siltuximab, the only FDA approved treatment for the disease.

2 Sep 2021