Health · Medical Research · 8 hrs ago
Matteo Materazzi describes experimental ALS treatment in the US
Matteo Materazzi spoke about living with ALS, a disease that affects the nervous system, on the Italian TV programme Verissimo.
He said he spent a month and a half in the United States for a personalised experimental treatment.
Materazzi said the disease is genetic and that he hopes research will help protect his children and others in the future.
His wife Maura said his diagnosis came about two years ago, after he began limping and doctors worked to identify the cause.
She said they have seen a slowing of the disease since the treatment, but stressed that they do not want to give people false hope.
The treatment was part of a trial that took a year to access, and Materazzi was the first to follow its protocol.
The couple said they are trying to help make the treatment available without patients having to travel to the United States.
Matteo Materazzi says he spent a month and a half in the United States for an experimental treatment for ALS.
He said the treatment is personalized and that he pursued it partly in the hope of helping his children, because the disease is genetic.
His wife, Maura, said they had seen the disease slow after the trip but did not want to raise false hopes.
Maura said Materazzi was the first to undergo the treatment protocol and that they hope to help make it available without travel to the United States.
Materazzi and Maura discussed his illness and treatment on the Italian programme Verissimo on 25 October 2026.
- Who
- Matteo Materazzi, his wife Maura and their family.
- What
- Materazzi described receiving an experimental, personalized treatment for ALS in the United States.
- When
- He spoke about it on 25 October 2026. He said his diagnosis came in September, two years earlier.
- Where
- The treatment was in the United States; Materazzi spoke on the Italian programme Verissimo.
- Why
- He said the treatment might help his children because ALS is genetic, and he hoped it could help combat the disease.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Maura said Materazzi had begun to limp, but the cause was unclear.
Maura said Materazzi received his ALS diagnosis.
Materazzi spent a month and a half in the United States for experimental treatment.
Materazzi and Maura discussed his illness and treatment on Verissimo.
- Treatment location
- United States
- Time in the United States
- A month and a half
- Diagnosis
- September, two years before the interview
- Treatment type
- Personalized experimental protocol
- Programme
- Verissimo
- Interview date
- 25 October 2026
3 sources
“Ho una malattia infame, oggi è mia ma domani potrebbe essere dei miei figli. Mia moglie ha avuto la forza di farmi tornare”: parla Matteo Materazzi
Verissimo: Matteo Materazzi e la moglie Maura: "La nostra lotta contro la SLA" Video
Matteo Materazzi a Verissimo, la lotta con la Sla: "Mi piace vivere, in Usa ho fatto una cura sperimentale"
What people are saying
The cure does not serve me, it serves our children.
You can suffer but you have to keep going with a smile.
We saw a slowing of the disease, but we do not want to give anyone false hopes.
Matteo was the first to undergo this protocol, we are trying to open a way to make this treatment available without having to go to the United States.