Promising Treatment Options for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

DENVER, CO, April 5, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is 100 percent fatal. This disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscles and ultimately leads to their demise. When this occurs, the brain’s ability to control muscle movement is lost. Those with ALS may slowly lose their ability to move, speak, eat and ultimately, breathe.

ALS is also called Lou Gehrig’s disease in honor of the baseball player who passed-away from the disease in 1941. This famous New York Yankee first-baseman brought national attention to the disease during his famous farewell speech. Stephen Hawking, known for his theory regarding black holes and the book he authored, A Brief History of Time, currently suffers from the disease that he was diagnosed with at the age of 21. This famous theoretical physicist was given less than 3 years to live at the time of his diagnosis. He is currently 75 and is, possibly, the longest surviving patient with ALS in history.

The Facts

Approximately 20,000 to 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time. One person in the U.S. is diagnosed with ALS every 90 minutes. 5,000 people are diagnosed every year. ALS is difficult to diagnosis in its early stages with weakness being the predominant complaint. The symptoms are known to mimic other diseases such as cancer, depression, heart failure, anemia, Lyme disease and cervical spondylosis—leading to further missed or late diagnosis.

Treatment

There is currently only one FDA-approved drug for ALS: Riluzole (Rilutek). Some question if its benefits are worth the potential side effects. According to an analysis posted in NCBI, this type of therapy resulted in an increase in only 3 months survival time. The most commonly reported side effects are fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.

Drugs are sometimes used to treat the symptoms. These may include drugs to relieve muscle spasms, pain or depression. Occupational and physical therapy is often introduced to help patients remain as active as possible and to help them find coping methods as their disabilities progress.

Clinical Trial

There are several drugs that are in clinical trials. Dexpramiperole is in a phase 3 trial. Ceftiraxone was recently halted in the midst of a clinical trial due to its ineffectiveness in phase 3. Tirasemtiv appears to reduce fatigue and improve function and is now in phase 2. NP001 halted the progression of the disease in 27 percent of patients in phase 2 of the trial.

In addition to drugs, stem cells and gene therapy are being researched as promising treatments, but all of these additional avenues of therapy are most likely years out of approval and public access.

Natural Supplements

L-serine is a non-essential amino acid that is found in the human body. This important amino acid helps form phospholipids which are needed to make every cell. It is also involved with muscle formation and the proper functioning of the brain and central nervous system. It is found in the protective myelin sheaths that cover the nerves.

A phase 1 clinical trial published in February of 2017 found it to be safe for patients with ALS. A study conducted on vervets, who had brain tangles and amyloid deposits similar to those found in ALS, reported a significant reduction when consuming L-serine.  According to Brain Chemistry Labs, it is currently in “FDA-approved human clinical trials sponsored by the Institute for EthnoMedicine and being conducted at Phoenix Neurological Associates. Human clinical trials are also being developed with the Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research & Treatment Center at California Pacific Medical Center and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.”

ARS Therapeutics

ARS Therapeutics recently released ALS Complete—a proprietary L-serine based supplement blend for ALS.  It contains 99.9 percent pure USP grade L-serine, calcium and magnesium. ALS Complete can be found at www.alstreatments.com.

Source: ARS Therapeutics