Rome, 21 November (Adnkronos) – “ALS is a heterogeneous pathology: identifying different subgroups means identifying therapeutic targets to be achieved. I think the most concrete step in 2026 will be the same transformation that we have seen in the field of oncology: different therapies for each type of tumor. Because ALS, like cancer, is not the same for everyone. The technology is there, but it must be supported”. Therefore Piera Pasinelli, founder and director of the Weinberg ALS Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and member of the advisory board of Arisla, the Italian research foundation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), participated in the awareness and charity event organized by Aisla, the Italian ALS Association, ‘Lapromise 2025’, in Rome.
Pasinelli expects “the arrival of increasingly targeted trials in 2026, both for people with genetic mutations and for those without known mutations. These are clinical studies focused on subgroups defined by molecular biomarkers, identified thanks to biobanks and analysis of cellular signatures that characterize each small subgroup of patients.” Optimism is also dictated by the latest scientific results. “Until 2 years ago we thought that ALS was an incurable disease – recalls the specialist – but the effectiveness of qalsody, the first therapy against the mutation of the Sod-1 gene”, the mutation responsible for ALS, “has shown that if we identify the right target, ALS can be treated therapeutically”.
However, for science to advance to the point of identifying the therapeutic targets mentioned by Pasinelli, “coordinated biobanks and registries, genetic tests at the time of diagnosis, solid collaboration and adequate investments” are needed, explains Pasinelli who concludes with the hope “that 2026 will be the year in which we will also fully enter the era of precision medicine for ALS in Italy. Even if we succeed in achieving this step by step, this will be a concrete and very important step”.
