all amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) stories

Harvard scientists praise lifting of stem cell restrictions

50443248 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:51:00 -0400

All across Cambridge and Boston, researchers gathered just before noon today in the laboratories that constitute the collaborative known to the world as the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), waiting to hear President Barack Obama announce to the world: “Today, with the executive order I am about to sign, we will bring the change that so many scientists and researchers, doctors and innovators, patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for, these past eight years: We will lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research."

New ALS gene identified

50443248 — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:33:39 -0500

A collaborative research effort spanning nearly a decade between Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and King’s College London (KCL) has identified a novel gene for inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Stem cell researcher honored by President George W. Bush

404132862 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:13:40 -0500

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) scientist Kevin Eggan today was cited by President George W. Bush for his work in advancing the field of stem cell science on both scientific and educational levels.

Eggan received a Presidential Early Career Award for Science and Engineering (PECASE) “… for developing new approaches for reprogramming of patient cells into pluripotent stem cells and for developing and teaching new undergraduate curriculum in stem cell science.”

Another step forward in ALS and stem cell research

404132862 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:03:53 -0500

A Harvard Stem Cell Institute research team has succeeded in deriving spinal motor neurons from human embryonic stem cells, and has then used them to replicate the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease process in a laboratory dish.

NIH names Harvard Pioneers, Innovators

404132862 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:25:41 -0400

Harvard faculty members comprise almost 20 percent of the 47 scientists nationally whose promising and innovative work was today recognized with the announcement of two grant programs through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The grants, expected to total $138 million over five years for all recipients, recognize established researchers through the Pioneer Award and young scientists through the New Innovator Award.

The awards support potentially high-impact research whose approaches have the potential to transform biomedical and behavioral science.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers granted approval

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:27:50 -0400

After more than two years of intensive ethical and scientific review, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Harvard and Children's Hospital Boston have been cleared to begin experiments using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) to create disease-specific stem cell lines in an effort to develop treatments for a wide range of now-incurable conditions afflicting tens of millions of people.

As far as is known, this decision marks the beginning of the first noncommercial effort in the United States to use human embryonic stem cells in a series of experiments whose principle has already been proven in animals.

The work is being entirely supported with private funds because of the federal restrictions on human embryonic stem cell work.

Combination therapy shows promise for delaying progression of Lou Gehrig's disease

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:28:24 -0400

In a study, researchers reported that the combination of minocycline and creatine resulted in additive neuroprotection in the case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. After treatment with combination therapy, survival for mice with ALS was extended by 25 percent -- or an additional 35 days -- when compared to baseline. Survival was extended 13 and 12 percent, respectively, when compared to minocycline and creatine alone. Additionally, the disease onset was also postponed by an additional 28 days, when comparing the cocktail treatment to the control group. The findings are especially compelling, given that both compounds are presently available for human use. Currently, human trials testing both drugs alone are underway. Researcher Robert M.

Old-line antibiotic seen to save neurons

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:21:02 -0400

Developed as an antibiotic 30 years ago, a drug called minocycline was later discovered to ease acne, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions. A few years ago, it was shown to slow and even limit the neuronal damage caused by stroke and Huntington's disease in mice. But researchers were not sure how it works in the brain. In May 2002, a Harvard Medical School research team composed of Shan Zhu, Robert Friedlander, and their colleagues reported that minocycline helps to protect mice from yet another neurodegenerative illness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. The researchers also reported -- in the May 2, 2002, issue of Nature -- that they have figured out the secret behind minocycline's neuron-saving powers.