Pancreatic cancer
Treatment studies at every stage, help with symptoms, and research into finding the disease sooner.
Read about Pancreatic cancerStudy area
ALS
ALS research is moving on several fronts at once, and many studies are designed so that people can take part from home for some of the visits.
About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called motor neuron disease, damages the nerve cells that control the muscles. Weakness usually starts in one place, such as a hand, a foot or the muscles used for speech and swallowing, and spreads over time. Thinking is often unaffected, though some people notice changes in behavior or language.
Studies test medicines meant to slow the disease, some of them written for people who carry a particular gene change. Others follow how ALS changes over time without testing a treatment, or look at breathing support, nutrition and devices that help people communicate.
Research in this area
Kinds of study you will come across
Most studies in this area fall into one of these groups. A listing usually says which one in its first lines.
01
Slowing the disease
Compare a study medicine with placebo, measuring strength, function and breathing over months.
02
Gene-targeted studies
Written for people with a known ALS gene change, found by a genetic test.
03
Natural history
Follow people over time, with no study medicine, to understand how ALS progresses.
04
Living with ALS
Research on breathing support, feeding, speech technology and care at home.
Be ready
Before your first call
What studies in this area often involve, and what a study team is likely to ask you for.
What visits tend to involve
- A rating of everyday tasks such as walking, writing and swallowing
- Breathing strength measured by blowing into a tube
- Blood samples, and for some studies a sample of spinal fluid
- Some visits done by video or by a nurse who comes to your home
- A caregiver often joins, and may answer questions too
Have these to hand
- When your symptoms started and when you were diagnosed
- The results of any genetic test, if you have had one
- The medicines you take for ALS and for anything else
- Whether you use a breathing machine or a feeding tube
Your questions
Questions to ask the study team
Write them down before you call. A good team expects them, and the answers help you decide.
- Can I keep taking the ALS medicines I already use?
- How many visits are at the site, and how many from home?
- Is there an open-label part after the study, where everyone gets the medicine?
- What support is there for the person who comes with me?
Study areas
Other areas we explain
Pulmonary fibrosis
Scarring of the lung tissue, the cough and breathlessness it brings, and the medicines that try to slow it.
Read about Pulmonary fibrosis
Stroke recovery
Getting movement, speech and strength back in the months and years after a stroke.
Read about Stroke recoveryUpdates on ALS research
Sign up with this area chosen for you. We write now and then about research in it, by email, and by text if you check the box.