Motor Neuron Disease News and Research

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Winners of the first CERF Medical Engineering Prize for ALS Research announced

The Cullen Education and Research Fund announced the recipients of the first CERF Medical Engineering Prize for ALS Research: Dr. Leigh Hochberg, Dr. Conor Walsh, and Dr. Sabrina Paganoni.

8 Feb 2022

Blood tests may enable simpler, more accurate early diagnosis of ALS

Blood tests may enable more accurate diagnosis of ALS at an earlier stage of the disease. As described in a study by researchers at University of Gothenburg and Umeå University, it involves measuring the blood level of a substance that, as they have also shown, varies in concentration depending on which variant of ALS the patient has.

28 Jan 2022

Scientists reveal toxic astrocyte changes in ALS

Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have revealed harmful changes in supporting cells, called astrocytes, in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in two publications in Brain and Genome Research.

19 Jan 2022

Novel biomarker can be used to identify disease progression in ALS

An international collaboration led by Flinders University has identified a potential biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Motor Neuron Disease, providing a way to test the effectiveness of future clinical trials.

13 Jan 2022

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

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

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

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

A single blood-based biomarker can help indicate underlying neurodegeneration

Levels of a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood can identify those who might have neurodegenerative diseases such as Down's syndrome dementia, motor neuron disease (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia, when clinical symptoms are not definitive

7 Jun 2021

Aiding her dying husband, a geriatrician learns the emotional and physical toll of caregiving

The loss of a husband. The death of a sister. Taking in an elderly mother with dementia.

18 May 2021

Tiny 3D brain models could accelerate drug research for multiple sclerosis

Tiny 3-D models that mimic vital aspects of the human nervous system have been developed in a step that could accelerate drug research for neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

3 May 2021

Sex differences play roles in how patients respond to brain diseases

Men and women are impacted differently by brain diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Researchers are urging their colleagues to remember those differences when researching treatments and cures.

16 Mar 2021

£1.6 million grant awarded to advance development of MND drug candidate

Researchers from the University of Sheffield's Institute for Translational Neuroscience have been awarded a £1.6 million grant from the Medical Research Council.

26 Jan 2021

Antiepileptic drug reduces early signs of clinical dysfunction in people with ALS

The antiepileptic drug ezogabine reduced pathologic excitability of cortical and spinal motor neuron cells that are early signs of clinical dysfunction in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study conducted by the Neurological Clinical Research Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital.

10 Dec 2020

Study finds how the brain 're-wires' after neurological disease

Trinity College researchers are studying how the brain re-wires itself in neurological disease.

24 Nov 2020

Novel device can benefit patients with upper limb paralysis

A tiny device the size of a small paperclip has been shown to help patients with upper limb paralysis to text, email and even shop online in the first human trial.

29 Oct 2020

Experimental ALS drug shows potential to prolong patient survival

An experimental medication that was recently shown to slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, has now demonstrated the potential to also prolong patient survival.

16 Oct 2020

Study implicates new gene as driver of motor neuron diseases

Failures in a quality control system that protects protein-building fidelity in cells can lead to motor neuron degeneration and related diseases, according to a new study from an international team co-directed by Scripps Research molecular biologist Claudio Joazeiro, PhD.

16 Sep 2020

Experimental drug for ALS shows promising results in clinical trial

An experimental medication slows the progression of the neurodegenerative disease called Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to recently released results from a clinical trial run by investigators at the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the company that manufactures the medication.

2 Sep 2020