French researchers had the idea of using blood platelets to slow the progression of the disease. After obtaining promising results in animals, clinical trials will begin in humans in 2027.
It is best known as Charcot disease. Instead, scientists use the term amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neurodegenerative disease caused by the progressive destruction of the motor neurons that control the muscles of voluntary motor skills, speech, swallowing and breathing. In France, this disease has nearly 1,600 new cases every year and is responsible for the deaths of three people every day. Three to five years after the onset of symptoms, patients usually die from complete paralysis of the respiratory muscles, although their cognitive functions are preserved.
To date, only one treatment, riluzole, can slow the progression of the disease. “But we are talking about a life gain of 3 months at most, which remains insignificant when you have 3 years left to live”recalls David Devos, neurologist, professor of pharmacology and researcher in neuroscience at Lille University Hospital, specialist in…
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