Measuring neurofilaments in brain and spinal fluid appears to be a reliable way of confirming an ALS diagnosis, Belgian and German researchers report. This finding is important because it takes an average of a year from the appearance of the first symptoms before doctors can diagnose the disease. The discovery could shorten this time. The neurons…
The mutation in C9orf72 consists of a repetition of a short DNA sequence GGGGCC which can expand in patients up to several thousands of repetitions. The length of the C9orf72 repeat is determinative for the age of onset of the disease.
Monday May 8, 2017 — A new drug was approved by the Federal Drug Administration on Friday May 5, 2017 – the first drug to treat ALS approved since 1995. The only other drug on the market today is Riluzole (or, Rilutek, Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC) which purports to extend the lives of ALS patients by…