Wheelchair access varies wildly, and drug trial ended early without benefit for ALS patients.

People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, often need wheelchairs to move safely. But a large study found that getting these devices depends heavily on where you live. In this trial, some participants already used manual wheelchairs, while others started new ones during the study. The data showed that those with worse scores on a standard function test were less likely to have these devices available to them. This gap in access makes it hard to compare how well different treatments work across the country. The study looked at how often people used these aids and noticed clear differences between regions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. These disparities suggest that where a person lives can change their daily reality more than the medicine they take. The trial itself was designed to test a drug called reldesemtiv against a placebo. However, researchers stopped the study early because it did not show the hoped-for benefits for the patients. This decision highlights the urgent need to address unequal access to mobility tools before they can be fairly used to measure treatment success.