Other research suggests presence of antibodies in ALS patients that attack calcium channels in motor neurons. Clinical trials of CNTF and IGF-1 in ALS patients underway. Riluzole studies in ALS patients demonstrate modest benefits leading to FDA approval in 1996 as ALS treatment. Gusella, Rouleau and Figlewicz part of the research team. 1991 Team of ALSA-funded researchers led by Brown and Siddique, link FALS to chromosome 21.
Response exceeds all prior rounds.
With this, ALSA had embarked on a two-cycle per year grant program. Researchers at Northwestern produce transgenic mouse expressing mutant SOD1 gene. ALSA awards grant to The Jackson Laboratory to secure, colonize and distribute the new mice models to ALS researchers. This mouse is a model for FALS in clinical symptoms and pathology. Dale Bredesen and Joan Valentine, ALSA grantees, report in Science the possibility that the SOD1 mutations may enhance the ability of the enzyme to act as a peroxidase, that is oxidizing and thereby damaging cell components.