Kay Parker had a single request for her funeral — that there be a recurring theme for those in attendance to be showered with the admonition of doing something for others and inspiring friends to do the same. Simple and inspiringly graphic. Everyday words worthy of eternal proclamation, poignantly stated, a resonating chorus for a world deeply in need of an unending dose of altruism.
Compelling testimony from patients. Inconclusive benefit data. Accelerated path to a controversial approval for a long-awaited drug.
That was the scenario last year for Biogen’s flagging Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm—a process that the FDA has had to answer for and doesn’t want to repeat.
Along with the central nervous system, the immune system may play a fundamental role in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), suggesting that bone marrow transplants may be an effective novel treatment for the neurodegenerative disease, according to findings from a research team that included Albert LaSpada, MD, Ph.D., distinguished professor of pathology, neurology and biological chemistry at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.
Insilico and its collaborators scoured massive datasets and found genes relevant to ALS through PandaOmics™, Insilico’s proprietary AI-driven target identification engine. Twenty-eight targets were identified from CNS and diMN samples; for 18 targets (64%), suppression moderately or strongly rescued neurodegeneration. The collaborative study was led by Insilico with support from Answer ALS and researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Mayo Clinic, University of Zurich, 4B Technologies, Limited, Tsinghua University, and the Buck Center for Aging Research.
A Jacksonville man's co-workers have organized a fundraiser to help offset his medical expenses just three weeks after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.
“This is the Walk To Defeat ALS and we host them in Fargo and in Bismarck, and we had a great turnout. Our goal for the state raised was $55,000, and we’re at $72,000,” said Stacey Donovan, Senior Development Manager, ALS Association.
Former Sawyer County Sheriff Don Sheehan, who has ALS, along with his daughter, Julie Zawistowski, and more than 50 family members and friends from Hayward, Eau Claire and the Twin Cities visited the stadium on Lou Gehrig Day, an annual event staged to bring awareness to ALS and related neuromuscular diseases.
Several times a year, Juan Onaindia travels from Orlando to Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to participate in one of four ALS clinical trials underway at the Phil Smith Neuroscience Institute.