Endpoints

Biomarkers are an important part of medical research and drug development. A biomarker is a broad term that describes some sort of measurable property of the body, especially one that can tell us something about a disease. Common examples are glucose levels for type one diabetes and blood pressure for hypertension.

Today on Endpoints, ALS TDI CEO Dr. Steve Perrin joins us to talk about  what a biomarker is, how they’re used in drug research, and a promising possible biomarker for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases: Neurofilament Light Chain.

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Finding out a loved one has ALS can be hard enough. But for people whose family members test positive for one of the genetic mutations behind familial ALS, it can bring a whole other set of issues to deal with – knowing that they might also inherit the mutation, and that they might pass it down to your children.

Daniel Barvin knows this firsthand – a number of people in his family have passed from ALS, and he himself is a presymptomatic carrier, meaning it may only be a matter of time until he himself begins to show signs of the disease. Today, he joins us on Endpoints to discuss what it’s like to know that ALS is likely part of his future, and what he’s doing to change things – both for himself, others with ALS, and his own newborn son.  

Donate to ALS research in honor of Daniel here. 

Support the show: https://www.als.net/donate/

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Joe Lynch hosts a podcast called “The Logistics of Logistics.” Normally this show covers topics about the logistics and supply chain industries. But recently Joe decided to switch up the format for one special episode after his friend Larry Cepuran was diagnosed with ALS.

Joe and Larry talked about the story of their friendship, Larry’s diagnosis, and how he’s adjusted to life with the disease. They also touch on why they’ve decided to encourage their listeners to support our research at ALS TDI.

Today, we’re presenting their conversation in full as a special guest episode. Find out more about Joe's podcast at https://www.thelogisticsoflogistics.com/

Support the show: https://www.als.net/donate/

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10 years ago, today – August 13, 2010 – the doors of the Steve Saling ALS Residence were opened. The residence combines the use of high-tech, accessible automation with specially trained 24/7 caregivers to provide an independent living environment for people living with ALS.

Today, Steve joins us to talk about how the ALS Residence came to be and how he hopes its model could someday improve the lives of people living with ALS around the world. 

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AT-1501 is an ALS treatment invented by ALS TDI. In 2018, became the first drug invented by a non-profit biotech to be tested in humans. In November of 2019, it successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical trial, and a Phase 2 trial is upcoming.

Today, in part one of a new series about the science behind AT-1501, we’re joined by ALS TDI CEO Dr. Steve Perrin, who will walk us through the first steps in the process that lead to the invention of this drug – the research into the mechanisms of how ALS effects the body, the experiments conducted in the lab, and the identification of a target to treat with a new drug.

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Today on Endpoints, ALS TDI CEO Dr. Steve Perrin joins us to answer some frequently asked questions about clinical trials: how the process works, and what you can – and can’t – expect when you sign up to participate.

To find more information about drug trials for ALS, you can visit our website here: https://www.als.net/als-research/als-clinical-trials/  or check out https://clinicaltrials.gov/ and search for ALS.

Support the show: https://www.als.net/donate/

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At ALS TDI, our mission is to find effective treatments for ALS. Often that involves trying to invent new drugs of our own, but it can also mean trying to see if treatments developed by others are promising. To do this, we perform something called “replication studies” – trying to recreate and optimize the experiments performed by other researchers to confirm that their results were accurate. This process is known as validation in the context of drug discovery.

Today on Endpoints we’re joined by ALS TDI CEO Dr. Steve Perrin, who tells us about the importance of replication and validation in the drug discovery process–and what we’re doing to test promising drug candidates that originated outside of our lab.

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When Corey Reich was diagnosed with ALS in 2007, at the age of 21, his family – his sister Clare, and their parents Ted and Wendy – knew they would do whatever they could to support him. Soon after, they discovered ALS TDI and decided that they would dedicated themselves to helping to further our mission to find effective treatments for the disease – as fundraisers, spokespeople, and even as employees.

Today, we’re joined by the Reichs, who share their story of working to end ALS – together as a family.

Support the show: https://www.als.net/donate/

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Today we’re joined by David and Scott Lloyd, the brothers behind Racing for ALS. Growing up, David and Scott shared a love of fast cars, but as they got older, began careers, and had families, they kept putting off their dreams of auto racing. That all changed in 2017, when David was diagnosed with ALS.

Realizing there was no better time than the present, David and Scott bought themselves a pair of high-performance cars and began organizing racing events to benefit ALS research. To learn more about Racing for ALS you can find them on: Facebook: https://fundraise.als.net/davesrace 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racingforals/.

If you’re interested in participating in Dave’s Race 2020, visit https://fundraise.als.net/davesrace

To access all episodes of the Endpoints Podcast, visit https://www.als.net/endpoints/.

The Endpoints Podcast is produced by the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

Support the show: https://www.als.net/donate/

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 In this episode of the Endpoints Podcast, Dr. Theo Hatzipetros, the Director of Pharmacology at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) joins us to discuss CMAP and the role it now plays at the lab. CMAP, which stands for Compound Muscle Action Potentials, is a technique used by neurologists to diagnose neuromuscular diseases and monitor disease progression. In mouse models of ALS used at the ALS TDI lab, CMAP can be used to detect and track disease progression before signs would be noticeable by Neuroscore, the traditional way of monitoring disease progression that relies on the human eye to detect it. Detecting signs of ALS earlier allows researchers to determine the efficacy of potential drugs quicker and ensures that the best drug candidates are advanced to the next stage for further testing.

Support the show: https://www.als.net/donate/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.