Neuron-damaging mechanism discovered in mouse model of inherited ALS

New research uncovers what may be a primary neuron-damaging insult that occurs in an inherited form of a devastating neurodegenerative disorder. The study, published by Cell Press in the August 26th issue of the journal Neuron, describes a critical mechanistic link between a mutant protein and disease pathogenesis in an animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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Boston Univ., Veterans Affairs find sports brain trauma may cause disease mimicking ALS

Boston University and Department of Veterans Affairs researchers discover brain trauma in sports may cause a new disease that mimics ALS

(BOSTON) – The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University SchooContact:  l of Medicine (BUSM) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that they have provided the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports is associated with motor neuron disease, a neurological condition that affects voluntary muscle movements. The most common form of motor neuron disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The findings will be published in the September issue of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (http://journals.lww.com/jneuropath).

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Researchers discover genetic link between both types of ALS

Contact: Marla Paul
marla-paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University Read more

New treatment helps control involuntary crying and laughing — common in MS, ALS patients

Contact: Rachel Seroka
rseroka@aan.com
651-695-2738
American Academy of Neurology Read more

New ALS drug slips through telling ‘phase II’ clinical trials

Contact: Christen Brownlee
cbrownlee@jhmi.edu
410-955-7832
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
A drug already used to treat symptoms of epilepsy has potential to slow the muscle weakening that comes with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), scientists report after completing a Phase II clinical trial—an early, small-scale test to show if the drug works and continues to be safe.

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Tiny molecule slows progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease in mice

Contact: Aline McKenzie
aline.mckenzie@sbcglobal.net
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS – Dec. 10, 2009 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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Heavy metal paradox could point toward new therapy for Lou Gehrig’s disease

Contact: Joe Beckman
joe.beckman@oregonstate.edu
541-737-8867
Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. – New discoveries have been made about how an elevated level of lead, which is a neurotoxic heavy metal, can slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease – findings that could point the way to a new type of therapy.

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The protein APC slows Lou Gehrig’s disease in mice

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive weakness, disability, and death. Treatments are largely palliative. Using mice carrying the mutated form of the human SOD1 gene that causes inherited forms of ALS, however, Berislav Zlokovic and colleagues, at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, have now found that administration of the protein APC slows disease progression and extends survival. The authors therefore suggest that strategies designed to activate APC might be of benefit to patients with inherited, and possibly sporadic, ALS. However, in an accompanying commentary, Charles Esmon and Jonathan Glass warn that such an approach would not be without risks.

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ALS may involve a form of sudden, rapid aging of the immune system

Premature aging of the immune system appears to play a role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to research scientists from the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Sheba Medical Center in Israel.

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Researchers make nerve cells from new “stem” cells - ALS treatment possible

Researchers said on Tuesday they had made a type of nerve cell out of ordinary skin cells in a new approach to stem cell research.

They made motor neurons out of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells — a type of cell made from ordinary skin cells that resembles human embryonic stem cells.

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