A research team from Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the first to show that injections of a protein normally found in human cells can increase lifespan and delay the onset of symptoms in mice with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.Reporting in the Nov. 28th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers said treatments of recombinant heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) increased total lifespan by 10 percent – significantly more than Riluzole®, the only ALS treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They cautioned that while the research suggests a new treatment approach for ALS, it is not ready for studies in patients.
