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 trialan 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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Spinal fluid proteins signal Lou Gehrig’s disease - could lead to early detection

High levels of certain proteins in the spinal fluid could signal the onset of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to researchers. The discovery of these biomarkers may lead to diagnostic kits for early diagnosis, accurately measuring the progression of the disease and monitoring the effects of treatment.

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Targeting astrocytes slows disease progression in ALS

In what the researchers say could be promising news in the quest to find a therapy to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrigs disease, scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have shown that targeting neuronal support cells called astrocytes sharply slows disease progression in mice.

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Research suggests new direction for ALS treatment

A research team from Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the first to show that injections of a protein normally found in human cells can increase lifespan and delay the onset of symptoms in mice with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrigs disease.

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Nanotechnology helps identify molecular signature common to Lou Gehrig’s disease

A nanotechnology developed by a University at Buffalo professor has enabled researchers to identify a molecular signature common to both familial and sporadic cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
It is the first time that a common molecular signature has been found in patients with both familial and sporadic cases, where no other family members have the disease, of ALS.

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