Menu Close

Articles on ALS

Displaying all articles

Epigenetics is how behavior and environment affect gene expression. Iryna Dobytchina/iStock via Getty Images Plus

ALS is only 50% genetic – identifying DNA regions affected by lifestyle and environmental risk factors could help pinpoint avenues for treatment

Genetic modifications to DNA regions involved in metabolism, cholesterol and immunity may play a role in ALS disease progression.
A man with ALS uses a head-mounted laser pointer to communicate with his wife, by pointing to letters and words on a communication board. Fezcat via Wikipedia.com

ALS scientific breakthrough: Diabetes drug metformin shows promise in mouse study for a common type of ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a crippling, progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. Now it seems that a diabetes drug may help some cases.
The stress over their ability to swallow can provoke a great deal of anxiety in patients. eyepark/Shutterstock.com

Assisted dying is not the easy way out

Nine states and the District of Columbia currently have laws that permit assisted dying, but the laws are so restrictive that they are often more hurdle than help.
A computer-generated voice was essential to Hawking’s participation in the world around him. AP Photo/John Raoux

Stephen Hawking as accidental ambassador for assistive technologies

You can probably hear Hawking’s famously computer-generated voice in your head. His example showed tech as a tool that enables people with disabilities to fully participate in and contribute to the world.
Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada since July 2016, but there are no ‘specialists’ responsible for doctor-assisted suicide and many doctors are overwhelmed with requests. (Shutterstock)

Who will be the doctors of death in a time of assisted suicide?

More than 2,000 Canadians have chosen medical assistance in dying (MAID) since legalization in 2016. But palliative care doctors aren’t embracing assisted suicide as part of their job.
In China, former basketball star Yao Ming takes the Ice Bucket Challenge at his NBA Yao School in Beijing. EPA/NBA Yao School

Critics pour cold water on the Ice Bucket Challenge: are they right?

The Ice Bucket Challenge has been called “one of the most viral philanthropic social media campaigns in history”. The campaign has raised the profile of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). But some…

Top contributors

More