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ALS/MND Research

Nearly four years since researchers identified the mystery component of toxic protein aggregates in ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)-affected motor neurons as TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43), a new study has suggested the protein is a player in head injury too.

The Johns Hopkins University researchers have transplanted into damaged spinal cords human nerve stem cells that they say have survived, grown and in some cases connected with the rats own spinal cord cells.

The ALS Society of Canada has won a Silver Mercury Award for their publication titled "Research News" in the 20th Annual International MERCURY 2006/07 Awards competition.

A team of scientists and lawyers warn in the journal Neurology that class-action lawsuits may significantly slow or halt science's ability to establish links between neurological illness and environmental factors produced by industry,

TGen scientists working with the Muscular Dystrophy Association identified more than fifty genetic abnormalities in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

A growth factor known to be important for the survival of many types of cells stimulates rapid extension of corticospinal motor neurons – critical brain cells that connect the cerebral cortex with the spinal cord and that die in motor neuron diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

A new gene therapy tested at Rush University Medical Center reduced Parkinson's disease symptoms by a remarkable 40 percent, researchers announced October 10th, 2006.

An article published in the September 29th journal titled Science confirms a long suspected link between Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

The international team led by the Penn scientist is the first to identify the key protein for ALS and the most common type seen in FTD.

The Institute at Oregon State University has discovered a new technique allowing researchers to watch, study and accurately measure key oxidants in animal cells. This is an important breakthrough that will dramatically speed research for Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Isis drug researchers have designed and tested a new molecular theraphy in animals that they hope will soon be a major breakthrough for ALS patients.

Experts are describing this latest research discovery as a momentous advance. Scientists have used embryonic stem cells to form new, functional nerve cell connections in formerly paralyzed mice. The outcome was that the paralyzed mice regained restored limb movement.

In a dramatic display of stem cells' potential for healing, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports that they've engineered new, completed, fully-working motor neuron circuits -- neurons stretching from spinal cord to target muscles -- in paralyzed adult animals.

Researchers at Japan's governmental research body Riken have succeeded in selectively converting ES cells into neural tissue by using human amniotic membrane.

The method to develop neural tissues without using cells taken from other animals, such as mice or cows, will enhance the safety of the derived tissues, taking the realization of regenerative medicine a step closer to reality.

The Columbia-based lab will seek to develop human cell based ALS assays and use stemcell derived motor neurons to screen drug candidates for ALS and spinal muscular atrophy in the hopes of find treatments for those suffering from motoron neuron diseases such as ALS.

Claire Tow and family have donated $15 million to match a grant to Columbia University Medical School to study motor neurons and motor neuron disease - the reseearch is intended to solve the mystery of ALS.

Our friends at the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins will undertake a gene search for sporadic ALS. Sporadic, or Typical ALS, accounts for approximately 90% of individuals living with ALS, whereas familial ALS, the form of ALS most researched, affects 10% of people with ALS.

A diet high in polyunsaturated fat and vitamin E may reduce the risk of developing amyotrohpic lateral sclerosis by fifty percent. Polyunsaturated fats including Omega 3, found in some vegetable oils, and omega 6, found in fish and leafy green vegetables.

The study included only 132 patients - further research can be expected.

A recent study using a mouse model by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine has shown that a high-caloric ketogenic diet may slow and/or prevent the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The study appeared in the April 3rd, 2006 issue of BMC Neuroscience.

Based on findings in rats, researchers believe an antisense drug has potential to be an effective treatment for some familial types of ALS.

"The potential of this therapeutic approach is very exciting for ALS patients carrying the SOD1 mutation," said Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., ALSA science director and vice president.

Cognitive impairment (memory loss) appears to be common in ALS patients reports a study of 40 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

"Even though ALS was previously thought to affect only the motor system, physicians are increasingly recognizing that the symptoms are much broader", writes Michael J. Strong, M.D.

Exactly how ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease - damages motor neurons is one of medical science's lingering mysteries. At least six mishaps within cells appear to contribute to the death of the nerves that enable muscle movement, but nothing stands out as the key problem.

Researchers have found that a common anticonvulsant drug helps slow the progression of dementia. This research may have positive results for people affect by ALS.

There might be hope for people affected with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) because of two well studied drugs, thalidomide and its derivative lenalidomide.

There is no cure for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, and until now, there has been no diagnosis for it either.