Scientists have discovered the precise location of the fourth known gene for familial ALS. The ALS4 gene on chromosome 9 is responsible for a rare form of familial ALS that affects boys during their teens and women in their thirties. Unlike m...

Now, for the first time, scientists have the means to diagnose ALS in just a matter of hours. Researchers have identified ALS protein biomarkers – a unique combination of proteins produced during the progress of the disease. The findings of D...

OTTAWA (February 18, 2004) – The results of the first clinical trial on three people from Quebec affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy raise the possibility of a treatment for this debilitating disease. The Neuromuscular Research Partnershi...

Ottawa (le 18 février 2004) Les résultats des premiers essais cliniques, effectués sur trois patients de la région de Québec atteints de la dystrophie musculaire de Duchenne, ouvrent la voie à un premier traitement contre cette terrible maladie. Pi...

The following article comes from the ALSA website. We thank them for allowing us to share it with you. The International Symposium on ALS/MND draws researchers and clinicians together from around the world to learn the newest in ALS researc...

The ALS Society of Canada is pleased to announce the expansion of its research program and first collaboration with its partner organization the ALS Association (ALSA) in the US. The two groups will jointly fund a project led by Dr Michael Strong, o...

Please forward to anyone you believe would be interested. The ALS Society of Canada, Muscular Dystrophy Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research are pleased to announce the Neuromuscular Research Partnership (NRP) Competition for...

Reprinted with permission from ALSA. [QUICK SUMMARY: New cultured cell study indicates HDAC inhibitors prevent protein aggregation. Protein aggregates are associated with several neurodegenerative diseases. The next phase will investigate th...

The following lengthy summary is provided by the MNA Association. Summaries of the ASK THE EXPERT session and the ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS session along with audio coverage of sessions by Canadian presenters will be available shortly. Ov...

Three independent groups of researchers have identified families with linkage to chromosome 16, providing strong evidence that another gene associated with familial ALS is close to being identified. There are four families linked to chromosome 16. Th...

Nearly $4million of neuromuscular research funded has been approved for 2003-2004. The partnership between The ALS Society of Canada and Muscular Dystrophy Canada with the support of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will fund 10 mul...

ALS researcher Dr. Jean-Pierre Julien has been awarded a Canada Research Chair. Dr. Julien, who recently moved his lab from Montreal to the University of Laval in Quebec City, will receive $1.4 million over seven years to continue his search for ne...

Study identifies the cells responsible for regenerating damaged muscle – and the switch that triggers the repair process OTTAWA, ON (June 26, 2003) – A research team from the Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI), led by Dr. Michael Rudnicki...

POTENTIAL TREATMENT DEVELOPED FOR MYOTONIC MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY Quebec researchers are first in the world to develop a technique to treat the disease (OTTAWA, May 13, 2003) – A team of researchers from the Centre de recherche du Cent...

Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG and a coalition of international research organizations announced in the journal Science of Research a fundamental discovery about the genetic and molecular basis for Motor Neuron Disease (MND), which includes Amyotrophic...

With permission of the ALS Association we are 'reprint' the following statement on this area of investigation. Susan Graham Walker The ALS Association is actively investigating thrombopoietin (rhTPO) and its potential benefit for people wit...

Montreal, April 1 2003 – A new three-drug cocktail used to treat mice with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, may increase life span and decrease disease progression according to a study conducted at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health...

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company The New York Times March 25, 2003, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final SECTION: Section F; Page 6; Column 1; Health & Fitness LENGTH: 312 words HEADLINE: VITAL SIGNS: OUTCOMES; Dashed Hopes for...

Clinical Bulletin from The ALS Association National Office Last week, Canadian media released a story about a woman with ALS who has been treated for the last 18 months with an AIDS cocktail. She and her ALS physician, Dr. John Turnbull of McM...

A research team headed by Dr. Donna Wilson at the University of Alberta is conducting a large scale study to identify best practice delivery models or approaches to providing end-of-life care. This study is funded by Health Canada. A key phase of...

The ALS Society of Canada, the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada (MDAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are pleased to announce the Neuromuscular Research Partnership Competition for a third ye...

A scientist new to The Packard Center for ALS Research has shown that key reactions in mitochondria, the small bodies within cells that supply energy to cells, are disrupted just before cells begin to die from the disease. Work by Giovanni Manfre...

A commonly-used drug for arthritis may be of benefit to ALS patients, if first-stage animal studies are any sign. In an article in this month's Annals of Neurology, scientists with Johns Hopkins and with the Robert Packard Center for ALS Researc...

The following statement from the American ALS Association has the support of the chair of the ALS Society of Canada Health Professional Advisory Committee. It is shared widely for your information. Recently, The ALS Association (AL...

LONDON, ON/TORONTO, ON (Oct. 24, 2002) – A new study by one of Canada’s leading ALS researchers will be the first of its kind to look at the impact of this devastating neurological disease on memory and other brain functions. News of the study coinci...

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN ALS RESEARCH Funding of a genetic register of ALS patients throughout the world with mutations in Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1-the first gene to be discovered linked to 20% of familial ALS) will be continued th...

The Neuromuscular Research Partnership Program (NRPP) is a result of an agreement between the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society of Canada (ALS Canada), the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada (MDAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Rese...

Stem Cells We Know They Can Divide, But Can They Conquer ALS? By Laurie LaRusso, MS, ELS Note: The ALS Society of Canada shares this article with permission from the ALS Therapy Development Foundation. In this rapidly growing fiel...

The 2002 Neuromuscular Research Partnership (NRP) competition has been announced following the signing of the memorandum of understanding among the ALS Society of Canada, the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada (MDAC) and Canadian Institutes of...

American researcher Dr. Clay Armstrong, recipient of Canada’s prestigious Gairdner Award for 2001has donated the $30,000 prize to the ALS Society of Canada for research. Dr Armstrong, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, made...

According to a news release on December 10, 2001 from the Department ofVeterans Affairs, researchers conducting a large epidemiological study supported by both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have found preliminar...

The following summary was written by Lucie Bruijn, Science Director and Vice President of ALSA. We thank ALSA for permission to reprint it here. 12th International Symposium on ALS/MND November 18-20, 2001 Highlights and Summary o...

12th International Symposium on ALS/MND - November 18-20, 2001 Oakland California Highlights and Summary of Clinical Sessions The following summary was written by Mary Lyon, Vice President of Patient Services at ALSA. We thank ALSA...

ALS attacks the nerve cells that control the voluntary muscles throughout the body. When these muscles fail to receive messages, they eventually lose strength, atrophy and die. Dr. Gregory Ross’ ALS research focuses on understanding how and why the n...

Making scientific discoveries that will be a target for drug development to combat ALS – that is a research objective for Dr.John Roder. Relevant research from a centre with a strong reputation is the key reason why Dr. Roder is among the fir...

Two groups of scientists have identified a gene, that when mutated, is responsible for juvenile ALS, also known as ALS2. This very rare variant of familial ALS starts before age 25 and tends to progress more slowly than classic ALS, which is primaril...

LONDON, ON, Sept. 25 - Michael Halls has made a donation in excess of $5 million dollars for research in ALS, a disease he has lived with since 1997. Some people, faced with a certain death sentence, might have given way to despair. No...