ALS Research News From The ALS Association's National Office

E-mail us if you would like to sign up to receive Research Updates.

Click here to view information on Clinical Drug Trials

The ALS Association has committed more than $58 million to find effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Our global research effort has helped increase the number of scientists working on ALS, advanced new discoveries and treatments, and has shed light on the complex genetic and environmental factors involved in ALS.  

The ALS Association has made significant research milestones in the fight against ALS, including:

• The groundbreaking discovery of the ALS gene, SOD1, responsible for 20 percent of all inherited ALS cases.
• Discovery of ALS6 in 2009, a new gene responsible for about 5% of all inherited ALS cases.
• The first clinical trial of ISIS-SOD1, a new drug that specifically targets the SOD1 gene

Dr. Lucie Brujin talks about the latest ALS Research

Dr. Bryan Traynor provides information on understanding the genetics of ALS

 

2012

• New Research Shows Link Between ALS and Another Motor Neuron Disease
• ALS Research Journal News - July/August 2012
• The ALS Association's Global Research Awards 2012
• Profilin 1 Gene Impairs Axon Growth
• ALS Research Journal News - June 2012
• The ALS Association Announces New Research Grants
• The ALS Association’s Drug Company Working Group Meeting Attracts Clinicians and Scientists from Academia and Industry to Discuss Therapeutic Opportunities for ALS
• The Current State of Clinical Trials in ALS
• Potential New Targets in the Search for Therapy
• The Search for Biomarkers to Speed Drug Discovery
• Quest Diagnostics Announces C9orf72 Genetic Test for ALS
• Cytokinetics Announces Encouraging Results from CK-2017357 Phase II Clinical Trials
• Stem Cell Study Aids Quest for ALS Therapies
• Over-oxidized Form of Superoxide Dismutase in Sporadic Bulbar ALS Shares Toxic Mechanism with Mutant SOD1 

2011

• Olesoxime Phase III Trial Results Disappointing
• Cytokinetics Clinical Trial Recruitment
• Neuralstem Receives FDA Approval for Cervical Region Injections
• FDA Approves Diaphragm Pacing System
• Genetic Abnormalities Linked to ALS Found
• Research Indicates TDP-43 and FUS/TLS Work Together
• ALS Clinical Trials Update
• New Research Points to Common Cause of ALS
• Astrocytes Toxic to Human Motor Neurons
• ALS Trial Expert Available
• Stem Cell Workshop Report Published
• Cogane Granted Orphan Drug Status
• New Grants
• Neuraltus Pharmaceutical NP001 Trial Accepting Qualified Participants
• Cytokinetic's CK2017357 Phase 2 Clinical Trial Opens
• Patient Involvement in Clinical Trials
• ALS Assn-Initiated Grants
• Essey Award
• Clinical Scientist Fellowship Award
• Dexpramipexole Phase III Clinical Trial
• iPierian Receives Grant
• New Research Grants
• Biomarker Prize 4ALS
• Is ALS One Disease or Many? 

2010

• Glial Cells Central Factor in ALS  
• ALS Association-Funded Research Reveals VCP Mutations as a Cause of Familial ALS 

2009

• Researchers Identify Genes Potentially Linked to Sporadic ALS (September 2009)
• Scientists Discover Faster Protein Aggregation Means Faster Disease Progression in ALS (June 2009)
• New Gene Mutation Discovery by ALS Association Consortium is Major Research Breakthrough

2008

• ALS Association Co-Funds Study Showing Boosting the Body’s Detoxifying System Counteracts Nerve Cell Loss in ALS Mice; New Therapies Suggested (December 2008)
• Disappointing Results from IGF-1 Clinical Trial (November 2008)
• Protein for Upper Neuron Identified (November 2008)
• Astrocyte replacement shows promise in a rat model of ALS (October 2008)
• The ALS Association to Support Trial of Lithium (August 2008)
• Stem Cells Generated from ALS Patients for the First Time (August 2008)
• The ALS Association Conference Outlines The Way Forward in ALS Drug Discovery (March 2008)
• New ALS Gene Paves the Way for Better Understanding, New Treatments (February 2008)
• The ALS Association Works with Investigators on Follow Up Study of Lithium for Treating ALS (February 2008)

2007

• Renewed Funding for ALS Biomarker Discovery Highlights Importance of Reliable Disease Indicators (December 2007)
• Possible ALS Drug Granted Orphan Status by FDA (December 2007)
• The ALS Association Grants Ruxton Pharmaceuticals Funds to Develop Brain Imaging Compounds for ALS Research (December 2007)
• Speeding ALS Clinical Trials with New Trial Designs and Biomarkers (September 2007)
• Drug Discovery in ALS: Animal Models are Problematic but Crucial (September 2007)
• Conference Focuses on Speeding ALS Drug Discovery and Trials (September 2007)
• Joint Project Brings Expertise to Bear on ALS Axon Dynamics (September 2007)
• Stem Cell Strategy Shows Challenges for ALS (July 2007)
• Irish Researcher Funded to Follow Link to Cognitive Change in ALS (July 2007)
• The ALS Association Announces 2007 Research Funding: New Efforts Promise Accelerated Progress (July 2007)
• Second International FTD and ALS Conference: Challenges and Progress (July 2007)
• The Milton Safenowitz Post Doctoral Fellowship for ALS Research (July 2007)
• Facts about Umbilical Cord Therapeutics and ALS (July 2007)
• The ALS Association Renews Funding for Distribution of SOD1/G93A Rat for ALS Research (June 2007)
• Nuclear Transfer Strategy Shows Promise for ALS Drug Screening (June 2007)
• Mice Show How Mitochondria Flow in Nerve Cells (June 2007)
• Researcher Honored, Shares Progress at Advocacy Day Research Session; National ALS Registry Projects Underway in Three States (May 2007)
• AAN: Gene Changes, Clinical Findings Highlight Annual Meeting of Neurologists (May 2007)
• Report on The ALS Association’s Drug Company Working Group Meeting on April 30, 2007 in Boston (May 2007)
• Protein's Role Emerging in ALS and Cognitive Change (May 2007)
• The ALS Association Presents The Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research to Christopher Henderson (May 2007)
• Renewal of ALSA-Initiated Grant to Fund SOD1 Screen for ALS Therapeutics (March 2007)
• The ALS Association Reinforces Project for Fish Model of ALS (March 2007)
• The ALS Association Expands Stem Cell Project to Characterize ALS Motor Neurons (March 2007)
• The ALS Association Uses Mouse Stem Cells to Find New Drugs (February 2007)
• First Fruits of Genome Wide Search Published for Sporadic ALS (February 2007)
• Researchers Give Clinical Progress Report in TREAT ALS Trials (February 2007)
• 2007 Funding: New Efforts Promise Accelerated Progress (January 2007)
• Cambria Biosciences Receives TREAT ALS Grant (January 2007)