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.
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.
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.