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Additional $7.5 Million for the ALS Research Program This weekend, the U.S. Senate appropriated an additional $7.5 million for the ALS Research Program at the Department of Defense (DOD), a 50% increase over last year!  The funding is in addition to the $6 million (20% increase) Congress appropriated for the National ALS Registry last week and also comes as Congress added another $2.5 million to support the Lifespan Respite Care Act, which helps to fund respite care programs in the states.   We would like to thank everyone who contacted their Members of Congress throughout the year in support of the ALSRP.  Your efforts led Congress to significantly increase its commitment to the ALSRP, something that was not done for most other disease research programs.  The legislation now heads to the President, who is expected to sign it into law. Read full story >>
Smoking May Now be Considered an Established Risk Factor for ALS While previous studies have indicated a “probable” connection between smoking and ALS, a new study published in the Nov. 17, 2009 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, states that smoking may now be considered an “established” risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The findings come from Baystate Medical Center neurologist Dr. Carmel Armon, an ALS researcher and neuroepidemiologist, who came to this conclusion using evidence-based methods to perform a rigorous analysis of studies examining the link between smoking and developing ALS -- a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting the motor nerves and the voluntary muscles.    Read full story >>
New "Antisense" Experimental Therapy Clinical Trial Announced  A new experimental therapy using an approach known as antisense, in which a drug is designed to shut down the RNA (Ribonucleic acid) that is responsible for the production of disease-causing proteins, is being prepared for a clinical trial in people with a familial form of ALS later this year. The clinical trial follows research funded by The ALS Association through TREAT ALS (Translational Research Advancing Therapy for ALS), our research pipeline that funds and facilitates the development of treatments for ALS based on important laboratory findings.  The research that resulted in the identification of this antisense drug was first funded by The ALS Association in 2003, and has been developed for the clinic through an academic/industry partnership.  ALS Association-funded researchers Drs. Don Cleveland Richard Smith and Timothy Miller, in partnership with Isis Pharmaceuticals in Carlsbad, Calif., initiated experiments in a rat model of ALS to determine whether reducing the amount of SOD1 protein may be beneficial in treating the disease. Read full story >>