Matthew B. Harms, MD: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Updates

“Lots of places have had to halt in-person, benchtop research, but that’s given people the opportunity to submit papers based on the data they’ve generated already. There is lots of exciting stuff coming up.”

As the majority of major medical meetings this year have shifted to a virtual format and a number of clinical trials have been placed on hold, the medical science community has been partially struck by an inability to share their data with each other.

For the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) community, however, there have been some positives despite the challenges. According to Matthew B. Harms, MD, consultant, Chief Medical Advisory Team, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and associate professor of neurology, Columbia University, in terms of research, the basic science exploration of ALS and the genetic exploration of ALS has been continuing to roll out. A number of datasets are expected to read out based on what data has been collected to this point, Harms explained.

To find out more about the state of science in ALS management and care, and how this shift to a virtual world has made an impact, NeurologyLive connected with Harms. He offered his perspective on some of the latest news in ALS, and what he is hoping to see going forward.