Introduction to supplement: the current status of treatment for ALS

Abstract

ALS is a lethal neurodegenerative disease wherein the diagnosis is often delayed. Our understanding of the pathobiology is slowly expanding, and the number of new genes is rapidly increasing. The development of potential treatments targeting specific mechanisms is beginning to offer hope. Evidence-based treatments and the development of quality measures have raised the standard of care. The current status of treatment for ALS includes one drug riluzole that slows progression modestly, and another drug edaravone that was recently approved by FDA to slow ALS progression. Multidisciplinary clinics and symptomatic treatments ease the burden of ALS and prolong life. An overview of these treatments is provided here.

Keywords:

• Treatment
• clinical trials
• amyotrohpic lateral sclerosis
• practice parameters
• multidisciplinary clinics
• quality measures

Declaration of interest

Dr Miller has been a consultant to Cytokinetics, Neuraltus, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. Dr Appel is a scientific adviser for Neuraltus and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc., and a member of the Speaker's Bureau for Avanir.

Open access publication of this article was funded by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.