Recent studies point to a possible connection between ALS and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the type of traumatic brain injury associated with playing football and other contact sports. NFL veterans Steve Gleason, Tim Shaw, O.J. Brigance, Dwight Clark, Kevin Turner, and others were diagnosed with ALS after their football careers ended. CTE has also been found in military veterans, who are twice as likely to be diagnosed with ALS.
New research published recently in the journal Nature Neuroscience provides a detailed analysis of TDP-43 aggregate composition and sheds important new insight on intracellular transport defects in ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.
In January 2014, Terry Fiset, a retired attorney turned theater director, was having trouble speaking and wanted help. She met Andrea Caban, a voice, speech, and accent specialist and the head of Voice and Speech in the Department of Theatre Arts at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).
In 2017, many new research discoveries and collaborations accelerated the momentum toward finding treatments and a cure for ALS. We helped lead the way by awarding several new grants to top scientists and clinicians. We currently fund over 126 projects in eight countries, furthering the best ALS research in the world.
We always enjoy our time at the annual events hosted by the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations and the MND Association. This year was no exception. We listened, learned, networked, got inspired, caught up with old friends and colleagues, and so much more.
For families affected by ALS, the holiday season can bring painful reminders of what the disease has taken away. But, the season conjures as many (or more!) reminders of the love shared among family members.
Dr. Steven Finkbeiner of the Gladstone Institutes recently announced a research partnership with Eli Lilly and Company to move his ALS research forward. Dr. Finkbeiner is a member of California-based Neuro Collaborative, an ALS Association-funded initiative focused on discovering new ALS therapeutics and moving them into clinical trials. This multi-year, milestone-driven project is using innovative robotic microscope technology to focus on better understanding neurodegenerative diseases, with a large focus on ALS.
Your life can change in an instant. Carmen Berkley’s life did in 2015. She is one of the 6,000 people diagnosed with ALS each year. In the video below, Carmen shares with us what a visit to an ALS clinic is like for someone living with the disease.
Youth who help care for their loved ones with ALS are learning about important areas of ALS care – from physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, to social work and neurology -- through YCare, an education and support program developed and directed by Dr. Melinda S. Kavanaugh, Assistant Professor of Social Work with the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
People living with ALS eventually lose the ability to speak to their loved ones and friends. In partnership with Prize4Life, we initiated the ALS Assistive Technology Challenge to improve the lives of people with ALS.
ALS is a severely debilitating disease that takes away a person’s ability to move, speak, swallow, and eventually breath. There is much to be accomplished to immediately enhance their quality of life. With this in mind, we sponsored an ALS Hackathon in partnership with Prize4Life to bring together bright, young students to brainstorm and quickly develop an assistive technology prototype.
People with ALS come first in everything we do. The ALS Association is dedicated to providing those fighting ALS, their families, and friends with the critical information, support, and resources necessary to live a full life and better meet daily challenges.
When first diagnosed with ALS, one of the first questions people ask is whether it is OK to continue exercising. A recently completed ALS Association funded study by Dr. Nicholas Maragakis of Johns Hopkins University and team set out to help answer this common question by exploring the possible benefits of exercise for people living with ALS.
Dr. Don Cleveland of University of California, San Diego received the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, an eminent honor to our long-time-funded ALS researcher. He received a $3 million prize, the largest individual monetary prize in science, during “The Oscars of Science” gala in Silicon Valley hosted by Morgan Freeman and aired on the National Geographic channel.
This year’s annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Meeting in Washington, D.C., was a huge gathering of over 30,000 attendees from 80 countries all dedicated to advancing neuroscience. The ALS Association was one of 534 exhibitors and promoted our global TREAT ALS research program.
Dr. Pierre Drapeau and team of Université de Montréal recently published an important paper in JCI Insight showing how basic animal models are used to identify ALS potential therapeutics.
By now, you’ve probably heard of #GivingTuesday – the global day of giving back! And while it’s a great day to raise money for ALS, #GivingTuesday is trending on all social networks, making it the best time to share your ALS story.
Are you ready for some Cyber Monday deals?! Turn those deals into support for people living with ALS and their families by shopping through AmazonSmile.
