GPB Passport icon GPB Passport icon Passport
GPB donate icon GPB donate icon Donate
Sign Up For Our Newsletter

WATCH LIVE | Georgia State Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting At 11 A.M.

News Articles: Lou Gehrig's Disease

Singer Roberta Flack, performing during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2010.

Roberta Flack announces she has ALS

The iconic singer of "Killing Me Softly" has the condition also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a representative has announced. For Roberta Flack, it is now "impossible to sing and not easy to speak."

|
By:
  • Anastasia Tsioulcas
A controversial new drug for ALS that just received FDA approval could add months to patients' lives, but some scientists question whether it actually works.

ALS drug's approval draws cheers from patients, questions from skeptics

A controversial new drug for ALS could add months to patients' lives – if it actually works

|
By:
  • Jon Hamilton
The drugmaker Amylyx is asking the FDA to approve a new medication for ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease. It's possible the agency could greenlight the drug by the end of the month.

FDA seems poised to approve a new drug for ALS, but does it work?

In March, experts who advise the FDA questioned the efficacy of an experimental new drug for ALS. In September, they voted to approve it anyway.

|
By:
  • Jon Hamilton
Researchers examined all 19,423 NFL players who took the field for at least one game from 1960 to 2019 in what the scientists said was the largest study of ALS risk in professional football players.

NFL players are 4 times more likely to develop ALS, a new study shows

Scientists who conducted the study say they couldn't determine exactly why the rate was higher but suggested that repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injuries may play a role.

|
By:
  • Joe Hernandez
Once the rules for implementing it are worked out, a bill signed into federal law in December will eliminate the required five-month waiting period for diagnosed ALS patients to begin disability benefits, enabling quicker Medicare coverage as well.

ALS Patients To Gain Quicker Access To Disability Benefits And Medicare

Lou Gehrig's disease can take months to diagnose, then rapidly incapacitate patients, leaving many families bankrupt before disability payments and Medicare kick in. A recent law aims to change that.

|
By:
  • Michelle Andrews
Patients with a fast-progressing form of ALS who got daily doses of an experimental two-drug combination called AMX0035 scored higher on a standard measure of function than patients who didn't get the drug.

Drug Combination Slows Progression Of ALS And Could Mark 'New Era' In Treatment

Scientists say new drugs are on the way for patients with ALS. The latest is a two-drug combo that appears to slow the progression of the fatal nerve disease with a modest but meaningful benefit.

|
By:
  • Jon Hamilton