Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) News and Research

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Scientists make electrically active motor neurons from iPS cells

Stem cells scientists at UCLA showed for the first time that human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be differentiated into electrically active motor neurons, a discovery that may aid in studying and treating neurological disorders.

25 Feb 2009

Researchers generate functional neurons from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells

In a new study, researchers were able to generate functionally mature motor neurons from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are engineered from adult somatic cells and can differentiate into most other cell types.

24 Feb 2009

Significant Rett syndrome discovery

A paper published online today in Nature Neuroscience reveals the presence of methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in glia. MeCP2 is a protein associated with a variety of neurological disorders, including Rett Syndrome, the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders.

23 Feb 2009

Human stem cells provide a new model for Lou Gehrig's disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating condition in which motor neuron degeneration causes progressive loss of movement and muscle tone, leading to death.

23 Feb 2009

Neuralstem's ALS trial on hold

Neuralstem, Inc. has announced its spinal cord stem cell trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is on clinical hold and that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has provided the Company with specific comments, questions and recommendations for modifications to its protocol.

22 Feb 2009

Boosting its infectivity turns benign virus into good gene therapy carrier for cystic fibrosis

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Iowa have turned a relatively benign virus into a highly infectious form that is ideal as a carrier for gene therapy.

16 Feb 2009

Molecular motors in cells work together in close coordination

Even within cells, the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.

16 Feb 2009

Lou Gehrig's disease in humans has genetic links to degenerative myelopathy in dogs

An incurable, paralyzing disease in humans is now genetically linked to a similar disease in dogs.

21 Jan 2009

Researchers identify biochemical switch required for nerve cells to respond to DNA damage

The finding, scheduled for advance online publication in Nature Cell Biology, illuminates a connection between proteins involved in neurodegenerative disease and in cells' response to DNA damage.

19 Jan 2009

Discovery of mechanism that may explain Parkinson's and other neurological disorders

Studying just eight families worldwide, the international team of researchers have discovered a genetic defect that results in profound depression and parkinsonism in a disorder known as Perry syndrome.

12 Jan 2009

Neuralstem files IND for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stem cell trial

Neuralstem, Inc. announced this morning that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a clinical trial to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

18 Dec 2008

New research points to possible treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease

There are many ways to die, but amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease must be one of the worst.

10 Dec 2008

Motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells provide insight into ALS

Two new research studies use motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells to demonstrate that multiple toxic pathways contribute to the devastating degeneration associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and that protective therapeutics will need to oppose the disease on multiple fronts.

3 Dec 2008

Researchers develop human embryonic stem cell-based system for modeling ALS

Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements.

3 Dec 2008

New voice care center

UT Southwestern Medical Center has gathered a team of specially trained physicians and therapists to launch a new center for voice care dedicated to disorders of the voice and larynx.

24 Nov 2008

IGF-1 not beneficial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A growth hormone that had shown some promise for treating people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) showed no benefit in a new study published in the November 25, 2008, issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Nov 2008

Researchers use embryonic stem cells from mice to grow motor neurons

Dalhousie Medical School researchers have discovered that embryonic stem cells may play a critical role in helping people with nerve damage and motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regain muscular strength.

19 Nov 2008

Maas Biolab scientists validate cyclosporin human neuroprotection

Maas Biolab researchers CSO Eskil Elmer, M.D., Ph.D. and neuroscientist Magnus Hansson, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues have for the first time ever demonstrated the mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) or "megapore" occurs in viable adult human neuron mitochondria and the ability of cyclosporin-A to block its formation.

18 Nov 2008

One in four Gulf war veterans suffers from illness caused by toxic exposure

At least one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness, a condition caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas, and no effective treatments have yet been found, a federal panel of scientific experts and veterans concludes in a landmark report released Monday.

17 Nov 2008

Nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, reduces Alzheimer's symptoms

An over-the-counter vitamin in high doses prevented memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's disease, and UC Irvine scientists now are conducting a clinical trial to determine its effect in humans.

5 Nov 2008