The ALS Association joined 37 patient groups opposing a decision from a federal court in Texas that declared the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. The Texas v. United States decision is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The ALS Association is proud to be the first investor in antisense technology, dating back to 2004 when antisense was just an idea in Dr. Don Cleveland’s lab at University of California San Diego (UCSD). Fast forward to 2018 and we are seeing promising results in antisense drugs targeting the two most common causes of inherited ALS, mutations in the SOD1 and C9orf72 genes.
Dr. Brian Wainger from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) presented initial top-level results from a recently completed phase II clinical trial of ezogabine (retigabine) on motor neuron excitability (NCT02450552). The study, supported by The ALS Association, met its main goal of quantifying a reduction in motor neuron excitability in people with ALS following treatment. Results were presented during the 29th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Glasgow, Scotland, last week.
I was diagnosed with ALS in January 2014, at the age of 53. I was an oncology nurse for 32 years and had just completed my master’s degree in nursing and passed the boards to become a nurse practitioner when I was diagnosed. Being a nurse practitioner had always been a dream of mine, but I was unable to use my master’s degree at all because of ALS.
People living with ALS come first in everything we do. We’re dedicated to providing people fighting ALS and their families and friends with the critical information, support, and resources they need to live full lives and better meet daily challenges.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America (MTPA) will present initial data on efforts to create an oral version of edaravone, a key drug in the treatment of ALS that is currently only available intravenously, during the International Symposium on ALS/MND in Glasgow, Scotland. The symposium will be held Dec. 7-9. MTPA is expected to present results that demonstrate that oral edaravone is processed in the body in the same manner as the infused formulation.
In a promising new study by Drs. Robert Brown and Christian Mueller at the University of Massachusetts Medical School report that a type of viral gene therapy using synthetic microRNAs (miRNAs) targeting the ALS SOD1 gene is safe and effective in nonhuman primate macaques (monkeys). The ALS Association provided $1.7 million in funding for this study, which demonstrated an efficient reduction of the SOD1 protein without side effects. This paves the way forward for further development of this potential therapy.
Before being diagnosed with ALS, I had no idea that veterans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease. Even knowing what I know now, I would still serve my country.