Among the reports given at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, being held April 21-28 in New Orleans, was information about research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Several experts presented their views of best practices for care of people with ALS at MDA's 2012 Clinical Conference, held in Las Vegas March 4-7.

Best practices outlined in this article include:

SOD1 causes toxicity in some familial and some sporadic ALS

In some people with bulbar-onset sporadic ALS, changes to the SOD1 protein cause the same toxicity as is generated by mutated SOD1 protein in the familial (inherited) form of the disease, a team of researchers has reported.

Preventing, halting or reversing motor neuron damage is a primary goal of ALS research. But new ways of thinking about the disease are guiding scientists down different roads to that destination.

MDA has awarded six new grants totaling $2 million to ALS researchers investigating some of these new pathways, with an eye toward identifying targets for therapy development.

Neuralstem's spinal cord stem cells, and the surgical technique used to transplant them, proved to be safe and well-tolerated in a phase 1 clinical trial in 12 people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although the trial wasn't designed to show efficacy, one participant showed signs of clinical improvement.

An overview of the development of TDI 132 for use in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) was the topic of a webinar hosted March 12, 2012, by the nonprofit biotech ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) of Cambridge, Mass.