Articles related to AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS)

Researchers presented findings from the AB10015 Phase 2/3 clinical trial, demonstrating that masitinib, an oral add-on therapy to Rilutek, offers significant benefits for patients with mild to moderate amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although the entire study population did not experience improved survival with masitinib, patients with moderate ALS who received masitinib in addition to Rilutek had significantly longer survival compared to those who received a placebo. The combined treatment also slowed disease progression, improved lung function, and enhanced quality of life in these patients. Masitinib works by blocking specific tyrosine kinase enzymes that regulate immune cell activity and inflammation, aiming to slow disease progression and alleviate symptoms. The analysis focused on normally progressing participants with moderate ALS at the study’s start, and in this subgroup, masitinib combined with Rilutek significantly slowed disease progression by 42% compared to Rilutek alone. Additionally, patients with moderate ALS experienced a median survival of 69 months with masitinib, representing a 44% reduction in mortality risk compared to placebo-treated patients. The combination therapy also showed positive effects on quality of life and lung function in patients progressing normally. These findings suggest that initiating masitinib at an earlier stage of the disease could lead to substantial reductions […]

The split-hand sign, one of the first physical symptoms of ALS, refers to a loss of the pincer grasp caused by weakening and wasting of two hand muscles placed on the side of the thumb: the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and the first dorsal interosseous (FDI). Hand muscles on the side of the little finger, such as the abductor digiti minimi (ADM), are typically spared, hence the term “split.” Several studies have attempted to develop split-hand indexes (SIs) based on a measure of muscle conduction known as compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) of affected and unaffected hand muscles over the years. The CMAP and F-wave persistence (FP) of three important groups of hand muscles — APB, FDI, and ADM — were assessed in 83 ALS patients and 50 age- and height-matched healthy individuals (controls) in this study. The sensitivity and specificity of SIFP and SICMAP in identifying ALS patients from healthy participants were compared using statistical analysis. When compared to controls, both SIFP and SICMAP tended to have very low values in people with ALS.