A perspective on therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: can disease progression be curbed?

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease involving both upper and lower motor neurons, leading to paralysis and eventually death. Symptomatic treatments such as inhibition of salivation, alleviation of muscle cramps, and relief of spasticity and pain still play an important role in enhancing the quality of life. To date, riluzole and edaravone are the only two drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ALS in a few countries. While there is adequate consensus on the modest efficacy of riluzole, there are still open questions concerning the efficacy of edaravone in slowing the disease progression. Therefore, identification of novel therapeutic strategies is urgently needed. Impaired autophagic process plays a critical role in ALS pathogenesis. In this review, we focus on therapies modulating autophagy in the context of ALS. Furthermore, stem cell therapies, gene therapies, and newly-developed biomaterials have great potentials in alleviating neurodegeneration, which might halt the disease progression. In this review, we will summarize the current and prospective therapies for ALS.

Editorial: Current Concept and Translational Study in ALS–FTD Spectrum: From Genetics, Neuroinflammation to Neurodegeneration

“…In our Research Topic, multiple therapeutic approaches including gene therapy, HDAC inhibition, protein therapy, and cell therapy have been summarized and proposed to target the DNA damage repair system, protein aggregation formation, and neuroinflammation. A more comprehensive understanding of ALS pathogenesis as well as identifying presymptomatic biomarkers may improve the therapeutic effect of the ALS-FTD spectrum in the future (Xu et al, 2021). Taking together the extremely high genetic and clinical heterogeneity of this spectrum, we suggest that it will be of use to adapt cocktail treatments based on the pathological condition and the stages of disease progression of individual patients.…”

Antioxidant and Neuroprotective Effects of Paeonol against Oxidative Stress and Altered Carrier-Mediated Transport System on NSC-34 Cell Lines

“…Because motor neurons are particularly prone to oxidative stress in ALS, prevention of oxidative stress by antioxidants may facilitate a pro-survival pathway and protect motor neurons [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Only two drugs, riluzole and edaravone, have been approved for the treatment of ALS by the United States Federal Drug Administration; however, there is an urgent need to discover new therapeutic agents that can help treat and alleviate the symptoms of ALS [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Paraneoplastic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Case Series and Literature Review

“…Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal and rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons of the brain and spinal cord [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Although ALS is not a classical phenotype of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS), PNS are one of a multitude of causes of ALS [ 4 ].…”