Dutch and Belgian researchers are joining forces with the launch of PLUS ALS, a five-year international collaborative project aimed at improving biomarker research in ALS and increasing the likelihood of successful drug trials for more effective treatments for people with ALS. For the first time, multiple biomarkers will be studied simultaneously and over time in the same group of people with ALS and control subjects. This should help to better understand how biomarkers correlate with disease progression and which ones are most informative. By better determining early in the research which drugs have the greatest chance of success, new treatments can be developed more quickly.

In recent years, our understanding of ALS has grown significantly. Researchers are gaining a better understanding of the causes and disease processes involved. New laboratory techniques are making it possible to measure these processes with increasing accuracy. This is done using so-called biomarkers. These include, for example, proteins in the blood, or new imaging techniques such as an MRI scan, which can visualize the disease’s activity. These biomarkers provide insight into how the disease progresses and how treatments work.

PLUS ALS is a collaboration between the ALS Center Netherlands (UMC Utrecht), UZ/KU Leuven, the ALS Foundation Netherlands, the ALS League Belgium, and the ALS patient association, and is funded by Romo Foundation.

Both research centers bring complementary expertise to the table: UZ/KU Leuven in the field of molecular biomarkers and PET scans, and the ALS Center Netherlands with expertise in MRI, EMG, EEG, and clinical trials. This collaboration creates a strong international platform for biomarker research in ALS, with the goal of accelerating the development of more effective treatments for people with ALS.

Pictured here are our board members Sven van Looveren and Marianne de Visser signing the funding agreement with the ALS Netherlands Foundation.

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