May 01, 2010
An MDA-supported, 10-center trial of 108 people with ALS who took the oral medication lithium carbonate — some in conjunction with the ALS drug riluzole — has found the drug does not slow ALS
May 01, 2010
Cytokinetics seeks participants for CK-2017357 study
Cytokinetics, a South San Francisco biotechnology company, is seeking participants with ALS for a trial of its experimental compound CK-2017357.
May 01, 2010
IMMUNE SYSTEM MODULATOR HERALDS NEW STRATEGY IN ALS RESEARCH
Blocking a key molecular pathway that the body uses to amplify an immune response has been found to delay disease onset and extend
May 01, 2010
Motor neurons in the spinal cord, which are known as “lower” motor neurons, have long axons (fibers) through which they send signals to muscle fibers in the limbs, trunk, face and other parts of the
April 21, 2010
Unwanted responses by the immune system to dystrophin have been seen in a small, MDA-supported clinical trial of gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)— an unexpected finding,
April 15, 2010
A research group from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom has found that mice with a disease mimicking human spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) benefited significantly from intravenous
April 15, 2010
Editor's note:This story was updated Feb. 4, 2011, to reflect the availability of a paper and editorial on this subject in Annals of Neurology.
Results of genetic testing done at Wayne State
April 15, 2010
AVI4658, an experimental treatment for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) caused by certain mutations in the gene for the muscle protein dystrophin, has shown promising results when
April 12, 2010
The experimental drug Zenvia, developed by Avanir Pharmaceuticals as a treatment for unwanted laughing/crying spells in ALS, has shown continued promise in lessening the frequency of such episodes
April 12, 2010
An MDA-supported, 10-center trial of more than 100 people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who took the oral medication lithium carbonate — some in conjunction with the ALS drug riluzole —
April 05, 2010
MDA has awarded two grants for research aimed at determining the precise molecular causes of facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD), and developing therapies for the disease.
MDA and Friends of FSH
April 02, 2010
The state of research in the familial (inherited) form of ALS was the focus of a special one-hour Webinar presented by the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) on March 25, with reports by
March 29, 2010
Blocking a key molecular pathway that the body uses to amplify an immune response has been found to delay disease onset and extend survival in mice with a disease that mimics human amyotrophic
March 24, 2010
Update (June 27, 2012): As of June 2012, this trial is ongoing but is no longer recruiting participants.
The oral drug tadalafil (brand name Cialis), commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, is
March 17, 2010
A research team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has characterized the mechanism responsible for rapid decay of the survival of motor neurons (SMN) protein that is encoded by the
March 05, 2010
Isis Pharmaceuticals of Carlsbad, Calif., has begun a phase 1 clinical trial of its experimental compound ISIS-SOD1-Rx in people with familial (inherited) ALS caused by toxic SOD1 protein molecules
March 01, 2010
Scientists at four U.S. institutions have successfully used gene therapy to treat very young mice with a disease resembling severe spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Study results were published online
March 01, 2010
In January 2007, MDA and the nonprofit biotech ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) of Cambridge, Mass., launched a three-year, $36 million drug discovery partnership. In January 2010, MDA
March 01, 2010
This article reports news about clinical trials in ALS as of March 1, 2010, including: high-calorie diets, SOD1 blocker, altered communication, ceftraxione
Value of high-fat, high-calorie diets to
March 01, 2010
In your January-February [2010] issue, I found your article about Gulf War ALS (“Research Roundup: Soil bacteria implicated in ALS-Gulf War connection”) very interesting. My husband Randy is one of
February 26, 2010
A process called trans-splicing has been shown to increase levels of a needed protein in mice with a disease resembling severe human spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), says a research team at the
February 12, 2010
This story was updated Oct. 6, 2010.
In many forms of muscular dystrophy, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), weakness and degeneration of the cardiac
February 09, 2010
MDA-supported scientists in France have identified a previously unknown type of muscle stem cell located in the spaces between muscle fibers in mice. They say the new cells, dubbed "PICs," may play
January 27, 2010
Significant progress on multiple fronts was reported by ALS TDI (the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapy Development Institute) in its first Webcast of 2010, hosted on Jan. 14.
The Webcast
January 19, 2010
Update (March 3, 2010): An update to the article Ataluren Results Disappointing was posted.
MDA has provided a grant of up to $1 million to the biotech firm PTC Therapeutics for a clinical trial of