Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

ALS - Jean-Pierre Julien

MDA awarded a grant totaling $345,000 to Jean-Pierre Julien, professor at Laval University, Canada, for research into genetic variations in a protein called chromogranin B (CHGB) that has been shown to modify disease risk and hasten onset in a type of familial ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

ALS - Dena Jacob

Research scientist Dena Jacob at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, received an MDA grant totaling $180,000 for research into decreasing cells' resistance to therapeutic medications in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

ALS - Oliver Hobert

MDA awarded $374,511 to Oliver Hobert, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University, New York, to study the function of the TDP43 gene, mutations in which can cause ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

ALS - Brian Freibaum

MDA awarded $180,000 to research scientist Brian Freibaum at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., for research into the mechanism by which toxic TDP43 protein leads to the development and progression of some forms of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

ALS - Michael Benatar

Michael Benatar, associate professor of neurology and epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta, received an MDA grant totaling $525,000 to continue research into the early stage of FALS — familial, or inherited, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) — prior to symptom onset.

ALS - Stanley H. Appel

MDA awarded a research grant totaling $330,000 to Stanley H. Appel, chair of the department of neurology at the Methodist Neurological Institute (MNI) in Houston, to study the protective effects of a specific class of immune system cells in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

MDA Symposium Looks at Partnerships Between Industry and Academia

Enhancing collaboration and transfer of technology between academia and industry was the subject of MDA's recent Translational Research Symposium, one of a series of four MDA-sponsored research symposia scheduled in 2012.

The symposium was held June 27 in New Orleans, in conjunction with the 2012 New Directions in Biology and Disease of Skeletal Muscle Conference.

'ALS Postcards' Highlight Global Efforts to Defeat ALS

On World ALS Day, June 21, 2012, the ALS Therapy Development Institute launched "ALS Postcards" as part of an international effort to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — known as motor neurone disease, or MND, in most parts of the world.

Pioglitazone Benefits Mice But Not Man

The anti-diabetic drug pioglitazone did not improve survival time when tested as an add-on therapy to riluzole in a phase 2 clinical trial of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The trial, which was conducted in Germany, was stopped early "for futility" when interim results showed no effects on survival. (A futility trial is one that is designed to stop at a designated point if it's clear that the drug is not having the intended effect.)

Patient Assistance Program Launched for Nuedexta

A new Patient Assistance Program can help people with a diagnosis of pseudobulbar affect (PBA) get a medication designed to treat the condition at low or no cost.

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