amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The vote by the agency's health advisers is a potential setback for patient groups who have lobbied for the medication’s approval for more than a year.

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.

Structures inside healthy brain cells nimbly move from one state to the next to perform different functions. But in certain degenerative brain diseases, scientists now think, that process gets stuck.