University of Wisconsin–Madison

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) News

  • Neurodegeneration research at the Waisman Center from gene to organelle to cell to brain

    Neurodegeneration research at the Waisman Center from gene to organelle to cell to brain

    Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and retinitis pigmentosa all have different manifestations and affect different body functions, but they are all connected by one mechanism: neurodegeneration.

  • May is ALS awareness month

    May is ALS awareness month

    May is #ALSAwarenessMonth and Waisman investigator Su-Chun Zhang, MD, PhD, uses stem cells to uncover the cause of ALS with the hope of developing treatments and therapies.

  • ALS awareness month

    May is ALS awareness month and Waisman Center investigator Su-Chun Zhang, MD, PhD, uses stem cells from ALS patients to uncover the cause of ALS and screen drugs to treat the disease.…

  • Laying a foundation for treating ALS, spinal cord injury

    This story starts in 1955, upon the death of Albert Einstein, when the pathologist charged with performing the famous scientist’s autopsy stole his brain. Fast forward to the 1980s when a University…

  • ALS community suddenly awash in awareness

    If you hadn’t heard of ALS before this summer, you’re not alone. If you haven’t heard of it by now, you must be living under a rock. Not only did the ubiquitous…

  • Study helps unravel the tangled origin of ALS

    By studying nerve cells that originated in patients with a severe neurological disease, a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has pinpointed an error in protein formation that could be the root of amyotrophic…

  • Implanted neurons, grown in the lab, take charge of brain circuitry

    Implanted neurons, grown in the lab, take charge of brain circuitry

    Among the many hurdles to be cleared before human embryonic stem cells can achieve their therapeutic potential is determining whether or not transplanted cells can functionally integrate into target organs or tissues.

  • Gene regulating human brain development identified

    Gene regulating human brain development identified

    by Terry Devitt University Communications With more than 100 billion neurons and billions of other specialized cells, the human brain is a marvel of nature. It is the organ that makes people…

  • Genetic change extends mouse life, points to possible treatment for ALS

    There are many ways to die, but amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease must be one of the worst.

  • Engineered stem cells carry promising ALS therapy

    Engineered stem cells carry promising ALS therapy

    “The novelty is that this is a combined cell and gene therapy approach,” Suzuki explains, noting that the bone marrow stem cells on their own had a modest effect, possibly by releasing…

  • $7.2 million grant to aid search for ALS stem cell therapy

    $7.2 million grant to aid search for ALS stem cell therapy

    With the help of a $7.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers will explore the potential of stem cells and natural growth…

  • Stem cell therapy rescues motor neurons in ALS model

    Stem cell therapy rescues motor neurons in ALS model

    In a study that demonstrates the promise of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved intractable to modern medicine, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown it is…

  • Scientists infuse rat spinal cords with brain-derived human stem cells

    Scientists infuse rat spinal cords with brain-derived human stem cells

    Unveiling a delivery method that may one day help surgeons treat the deadly neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers at the UW-Madison have inserted engineered human stem cells into the spinal…

  • Waisman researchers grow critical nerve cells

    Waisman researchers grow critical nerve cells

    After years of trial and error, scientists have coaxed human embryonic stem cells to become spinal motor neurons, critical nervous system pathways that relay messages from the brain to the rest of…

  • Neural stem cells take a step closer to the clinic

    Scientists working with cells that may someday be used to replace diseased or damaged cells in the brain have taken neural stem cell technology a key step closer to the clinic.