The climb: what has worked, what is rising, what stopped
Each mountain is one way of attacking ALS, drawn from its own history. Time runs left to right. Height is how far testing has gone. Every treatment is a trail: the ones that reach the top are real results, the ones still moving at the right edge are today's live hopes, and a trail that ends partway is where an effort stopped.
Approved by a regulatorIn a trial nowStopped: trial ended early, or regulator said noNo trial running that we know ofFinished trial posted results: filled, a significant difference on a primary measure; hollow, noneThe mountain: furthest point reached so far
The mountains
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How to read this honestly. Height is how far testing has gone, not how well something works: most treatments that reach Phase 3 still fail. “Stopped” covers trials ended early for any reason, including money or recruitment, not only disappointing results. Results come only from what sponsors posted on ClinicalTrials.gov: most trials have posted nothing there, even when a paper exists, so a trail with no result mark may still have published findings. A “significant difference” is a statistical statement about one measure, which can be a side effect or a laboratory value; it does not say which group did better or whether patients benefit. Approval is a real result, but approved ALS medicines so far slow the disease modestly; none stops it. Care that has trial evidence, such as breathing support, is on the Living with ALS page.