Lou Gehrig's Disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurological disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neuron cells in the spinal cord and brain, which ultimately results in paralysis and death. The disease takes its less-scientific name from Lou Gehrig, a baseball player with the New York Yankees in the late 1920s and 1930s, who was forced to retire in 1939 as a result of the loss of motor control caused by the disease.
In 1991, a team of researchers linked familial ALS to chromosome 21. Two years later, the SOD1 gene was identified as being associated with many cases of familial ALS. The enzyme coded for by SOD1 carries out a very important function in cells: it removes dangerous superoxide radicals by converting them into non-harmful substances. Defects in the action of this enzyme mean that the superoxide radicals attack cells from the inside, causing their death. Several different mutations in this enzyme all result in ALS, making the exact molecular cause of the disease difficult to ascertain.
Recent research has suggested that treatment with drugs called antioxidants may benefit ALS patients. However, since the molecular genetics of the disease are still unclear, a significant amount of research is still required to design other promising treatments for ALS.
Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a neurologic condition of involuntary, sudden and frequent episodes of laughing or crying and is quite common in patients with underlying neurologic diseases or injuries, especially those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010.
Researchers have identified a gene that appears to increase a person's risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of Alzheimer's disease. The research will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010.
New research finds any beneficial effect of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol on stroke may be counteracted by cigarette smoking, according to research that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010.
The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline to help determine when people with Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia should stop driving. The guideline is published in the April 12, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and was presented at the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting in Toronto.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding the 2010 Sheila Essey Award-An Award for ALS Research to Clive Svendsen, PhD, with the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute in Los Angeles, CA. Svendsen will receive the award during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, held April 10 through April 17, 2010.
The American Academy of Neurology is awarding the 2010 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research to David A. Hafler, MD, with Yale University. Hafler will receive the award during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, held April 10 through April 17, 2010.
The American Academy of Neurology will recognize the outstanding achievements of researchers in neurology during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 through 17, 2010, the world's largest gathering of neurologists with more than 2,000 presentations on the latest advances in neurologic research.
In an article published in Nature Genetics today, scientists at the ALS Therapy Development Institute describe how they have linked an unbiased gene expression profiling effort to the identification and successful preclinical testing of a potential novel therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The ALS Therapy Development Institute and Aestus Therapeutics, Inc., announced their plans today to test several potential small-molecule compounds to slow or stop the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease).
Researchers have new insight into the relationship between Parkinson's disease and smoking. Several studies have shown that smokers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease. A new study published in the March 10, 2010, online issue of Neurology ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, shows that smoking for a greater number of years may reduce the risk of the disease, but smoking a larger number of cigarettes per day may not reduce the risk.
Allergan, Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved BOTOX® (onabotulinumtoxinA) for the treatment of increased muscle stiffness in the elbow, wrist and fingers in adults with upper limb spasticity.
Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1 study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with an inherited, aggressive form of Lou Gehrig's disease also known as familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Isotechnika Pharma Inc. today announced that it has received funding approval from the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) for its Non-Immunosuppressive Cyclosporin Analog Molecules (NICAM) program.
Having a shingles infection that affects the eyes may increase the risk of stroke, according to new research published in the March 3, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have taken a significant step forward in developing a vaccination approach to reverse the neurological damage seen with Parkinson's disease.
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and Miami Valley Hospital announced today the formation of the Wright State University & Premier Health Partners Neuroscience Institute to speed the transfer of research discoveries from bench to bedside, improving the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders such as stroke. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents Eric Fingerhut joined Wright State University and Miami Valley Hospital officials in making the announcement.
A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends that the drug quinine, although effective, should be avoided for treatment of routine muscle cramps due to uncommon but serious side effects.
The United States government's decision last year to lift restrictions on federally-funded stem cell research has helped the nation's stem-cell researchers concentrate on science, but limitations remain - even under the new policy, according to George Daley, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Children's Hospital Boston.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding its 2010 Potamkin Prize to two researchers for their work in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), a common type of dementia. Bruce L. Miller, MD, and Lennart Mucke, MD, both of the University of California San Francisco will receive the Award during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010. The AAN Annual Meeting is the world's largest gathering of neurologists with more than 2,000 presentations made on the latest advances in neurologic research.
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