Mayo Clinic in Florida has received a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIDS) to begin an innovative study that will provide hundreds of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) access to the experimental drug ibudilast over six months.
Mayo ClinicSep 24 2024 Mayo Clinic in Florida has received a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to begin an innovative study that will provide hundreds of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis access to the experimental drug ibudilast over six months. The grant totals $22 million. Mayo Clinic will receive $12 million and manage the distribution of the remainder to its collaborators.
Björn Oskarsson, M.D., lead investigator for the project and director of Mayo Clinic's ALS Center of Excellence, says the primary measure of the drug's effect on ALS progression will be a blood test that shows whether neurofilament protein levels have changed in patients with ALS. High levels of neurofilament proteins may indicate damage in neurons.
This trial will let patients monitor their own ALS condition, and we hope to confirm that this will be an effective way to evaluate progress in patients with ALS. This is important because it is difficult to say if ALS disease progression is speeding up or slowing down. Neurofilament light can be seen as sort of a speedometer that can give an indication whether a treatment is working or not."
ALS is a fatal motor neuron disease. People with ALS often die within three years of diagnosis. While there have been advances in understanding ALS, there is no cure or treatment that significantly improves motor function or extends survival in those with the disease.
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