Transcranial spinal cord stimulation in ALS: PathMaker EFS results — safety and preliminary motor function findings
Summary
PathMaker Neurosystems published Early Feasibility Study results for their non-invasive transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation system in ALS patients, presented at the 2026 MDA Clinical & Scientific Conference. The EFS demonstrated safety of the wearable spinal cord stimulation approach in ALS, with no serious adverse events and preliminary findings suggesting preservation of motor circuit excitability in stimulated patients compared to natural history projections. The non-invasive approach enables repetitive treatment sessions without surgical risk — an important advantage for ALS patients whose prognosis limits invasive procedure risk tolerance.
Why it matters
Safety confirmation in an ALS EFS for non-invasive SCS is clinically meaningful given ALS patients' complex medical status and the absence of effective neuromodulation options. The preliminary motor preservation finding, if confirmed in a larger controlled study, would be the first evidence of non-invasive neuromodulation slowing ALS motor progression — a result of major importance for a disease where only riluzole and edaravone have demonstrated disease-modifying effects.
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