Join the 'Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis' group to help and get support from people like you. How it works
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Blog
Includes: ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, ALS
| Tweet |
Scientists Discover Key Gene Mutation Behind Lou Gehrig's Disease
Posted 21 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 – Researchers have identified a genetic mutation common to roughly one-third of two devastating neurological disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, destroys the motor neurons of the brain and the spinal cord, which are responsible for voluntary movement. ALS patients become progressively more paralyzed, and often die within a few years of diagnosis. FTD is a type of dementia that occurs when the frontal and temporal anterior lobes of the brain atrophy. People with FTD develop erratic behavior, emotional problems, trouble communicating and difficulty with walking and other basic movements. As with ALS, FTD is often fatal within a few years, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Now, an international team of researchers has found that ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Researchers Say They've Found Common Cause of All Types of ALS
Posted 22 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, Aug. 21 – The apparent discovery of a common cause of all forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) could give a boost to efforts to find a treatment for the fatal neurodegenerative disease, a new study contends. Scientists have long struggled to identify the underlying disease process of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) and weren't even sure that a common disease process was associated with all forms of ALS. In this new study, Northwestern University researchers said they found that the basis of ALS is a malfunctioning protein recycling system in the neurons of the brain and spinal cord. Efficient recycling of the protein building blocks in the neurons are critical for optimal functioning of the neurons. They become severely damaged when they can't repair or maintain themselves. This problem occurs in all three types of ALS: hereditary, sporadic and ALS that targets ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Smoking May Up Risk of ALS
Posted 14 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 14 – Smoking may increase the risk of the fatal muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers warn. Each year in the United States, more than 5,500 people are diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. There is no cure for the disease and treatments are very limited. In this study, researchers analyzed data from five long-term studies that involved a total of more than 1.1 million people, including 832 with ALS. Follow-up in the studies ranged from seven to 28 years. Compared to nonsmokers, the risk of developing ALS was 42 percent higher in current smokers and 44 percent higher in former smokers. The researchers also found that the risk of developing ALS increased by 10 percent for each additional 10 cigarettes smoked per day and by nine percent for each 10 years of smoking. The researchers also found that the younger a person was ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Gene Tied to Inherited Form of Lou Gehrig's Disease
Posted 9 Dec 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 9 – A genetic mutation associated with an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease – known in the medical world as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – has been identified by an international team of researchers. About five percent of ALS cases are hereditary. In their study, the team used a new type of genomics technology called exome sequencing to find the mutation in the valosin-containing protein (VCP) gene, which has been described as a molecular "chaperone" aiding various cellular activities such as protein breakdown. "Identifying the genetic mutations responsible for the inherited form of ALS increases our knowledge of the disease process. Mutations in the VCP gene appear to cause one to two percent of the familial ALS cases," project leader Dr. Bryan Traynor, of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the U.S. National Institute on Aging, said in an NIA news release. ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Genetic Studies Find Clues to 'Lou Gehrig's Disease' Risk
Posted 1 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Aug. 30 – Genetic variations on a specific chromosome appear to play a role in a fatal motor neuron condition known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, two teams of scientists have found. In one study, Bryan Traynor, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and an international group of colleagues analyzed the genomes of 405 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients in Finland and 497 people without the disease ("controls"). The investigators pinpointed genetic variations on chromosome 9 that are linked to increased risk for ALS. In the other study, Ammar Al-Chalabi, from Kings College London, led an international team in examining DNA samples from 599 ALS patients and 4,144 controls in the United Kingdom, and found strong evidence of an association between two genetic variations on chromosome 9 and ALS. The findings, published online Aug. 30 in ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Lithium of No Benefit in ALS, Study Finds
Posted 11 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 – A new study appears to dash hopes that the psychiatric drug lithium can benefit patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The investigation involving 171 people with ALS was stopped early, in November 2009, because of high dropout rates from death, side effects or because patients thought the drug was ineffective. ALS – sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease after the N.Y. Yankee who died of the condition – is a progressive nervous system disorder that causes weakness in muscles, including those controlling breathing and swallowing. Median survival is three years, and only one drug – riluzole – is approved for ALS treatment in the United States. Interest in lithium, which is often used to treat bipolar disorder, increased after a small Italian study was published two years ago, suggesting a beneficial effect for ALS patients, said Dr. Adriano Chio, an ... Read more
Related support groups: Lithium, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Lithobid, Eskalith, Lithotabs, Eskalith-CR, Lithonate
Treatment Eases Involuntary Laughing, Crying Tied to Alzheimer's, MS
Posted 15 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 14 – Involuntary crying or laughing can be a common symptom in patients with certain neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, a combination of drugs could be the first effective long-term treatment for the problem, researchers say. The new treatment for curbing these unwanted crying/laughing episodes – known to doctors as "pseudobulbar affect" or PBA – uses two drugs, dextromethorphan and low-dose quinidine. Early indications are that the two drugs do reduce the incidence and severity of PBA episodes and improve quality of life. "There's no FDA-approved therapy for pseudobulbar affect," noted study lead author Dr. Erik P. Pioro, director of the section for ALS and related disorders at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). "The off-label medications ... Read more
Related support groups: Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
No Evidence That Lithium Helps in ALS
Posted 6 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 6 – The drug lithium doesn't delay progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, and shouldn't be used to treat patients with the disease, researchers say. The findings from a new study contradict promising results from a small pilot study that led to a high level of off-label use of lithium to treat people with ALS, a fatal motor neuron condition. Traditionally, lithium is used to treat bipolar affective disorder. Currently, there is no cure for ALS. The only approved drug for treatment of ALS is riluzole, which has been shown to extend patients' lives by an average of three months. In the new study, American and Canadian researchers randomly assigned 84 ALS patients to receive either riluzole and a placebo or riluzole and lithium. The trial was stopped early after initial findings suggested that lithium would have little or no effect. ... Read more
Related support groups: Lithium, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Lithobid, Eskalith, Lithotabs, Eskalith-CR, Lithonate
Molecule Discovery Might Help ALS Patients
Posted 10 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 10 – Researchers have identified a molecule that can reduce symptoms and prolong the life of mice with a type of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The molecule, called microRNA-206 (miR-206), is produced naturally by skeletal muscles in response to nerve damage caused by ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The molecule acts as a chemical signal to guide new nerve endings and maintain their interactions with muscles. However, this research in mice suggests that miR-206 only works for a limited period of time. As nerves continue to die because of ALS, eventually surviving nerves can no longer compensate and symptoms such as muscle weakness begin to develop. "While miR-206 initially prompts nearby surviving nerves to send new branches to the muscles, it only delays the inevitable," study senior author Eric Olson, chairman of molecular biology at the University of ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Finding Raises Hope for Treating ALS
Posted 15 Jun 2009 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, JUNE 15 – Researchers now believe that ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, starts well before its debilitating symptoms appear, a finding that they say could eventually lead to an effective treatment. Protein clumps in cells that show up only after damage has occurred, rather than at the onset of the disease, appear responsible for the paralyzing course of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), according to University of Florida researchers. The research team found that the formation of these clumps of defective proteins and cell matter, called "protein aggregates," actually signals that ALS is progressing at a rapid pace. In ALS, nerve cells extending from the brain to the spinal cord and then to the muscles die off. Its cause is unknown, though an inherited defective gene is suspected in up to 20 percent of cases. Scientists thought it originated with malformed – or ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Gene Mutation Linked to Inherited ALS
Posted 26 Feb 2009 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 26 – A new gene has been identified as playing a role in the inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, say researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and King's College, London. The discovery, a mutation in the FUS/TLS gene, is the fourth gene linked to the neurological disorder, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The finding was reported in the Feb. 27 issue of the journal Science. "We found a series of mutations in a gene that interacts with biological pathways already implicated in ALS and other neurological diseases, resulting in familial ALS of differing inheritance patterns and varying severity," Dr. Thomas Kwiatkowski, of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the report, said in a news release from the hospital. The discovery "puts us closer to identifying the link ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Growth Hormone Won't Fight ALS
Posted 24 Nov 2008 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Nov. 24 – The growth hormone known as insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) showed no benefit for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The two-year U.S. study included 330 patients from 20 medical centers. Two previous, shorter studies had produced conflicting results. One North American study found that IGF-1 was beneficial, while a European study found no benefit for people with ALS, a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease that causes muscles to weaken and deteriorate. This new study concluded that IGF-1 does not slow progression of muscle weakness. "It's disappointing that we were not able to confirm the benefit that was found in the North American study. The current treatment options for ALS are inadequate, and more effective treatments are vitally needed," study author Dr. Eric J. Sorenson, of the Mayo Clinic in ... Read more
Related support groups: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Ask a Question
You may also be interested in...
Related Condition Support Groups
Central Nervous System Disorders