Previewing Conversations in Emerging ALS Care at the 2025 Carolina Neuromuscular Summit: Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

"We’re entering a new phase in ALS care. The first gene therapy shows this disease is treatable. Even better, we’re learning how to match people to trials that fit their biology—and the earlier we act, the better they do. We’re no longer thinking about ALS as untreatable; we’re thinking about how to treat it smarter."

In recent years, neuromuscular medicine has seen major advances driven by genetic insights, improved diagnostics, and novel therapies. Gene-targeted treatments, such as antisense oligonucleotides and gene replacement therapies, have transformed care for conditions like spinal muscular dystrophy (SMA), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). For ALS, biomarker research–especially involving neurofilament light chain–has improved early detection and monitoring of disease progression.

On September 27^th, Physicians Education Resource (PER) will host a 1-day educational event dedicated towards the latest updates in the care for neuromuscular conditions. The event will kick off with opening remarks by medical titan James F. Howard, MD, FAAN, followed by a presentation by Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, on the evolving management of ALS. Other sessions will involve best practices for assessing and managing SMA, identifying and treating myasthenia gravis, evidence-based approaches to chronic inflammatory demyelinnating polyneuropathy, and more.

Cudkowicz, director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, sat down with NeurologyLive® before the meeting to discuss why clinicians should attend the 2025 Carolina Neuromuscular Summit, and what they can expect to learn. In the interview, Cudkowicz discusses the importance of staying up to date on the latest practices for ALS amid such a growing field, while overviewing some of the latest advances in biomarker detection and treatment solutions. In addition, she spoke on the improvements in genetic testing and the changes to evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of life for patients with ALS.

For more information about registration for the 2025 Carolina Neuromuscular Summit, click here.