The ALS Association is accepting applications for The Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2019 to support post-high school education for students whose lives have been impacted by ALS. Scholarship recipients receive up to $5,000 per year to help cover the cost of education.
The Wichita ALS Clinic in Partnership with Neurology Consultants of Kansas in Wichita, Kansas provides focused support for people living with ALS, allowing them to receive care from specialized medical professionals during a single visit.
Under the legislation, Minnesota will disperse $20 million to the Minnesota Officer of Higher Education to award competitive research grants to scientists studying the prevention, treatment, causes or cures of ALS. Applicants may range from research facilities, universities or health systems located in Minnesota. An additional $5 million will be dedicated to helping caregivers care for loved ones living with ALS. These caregiving funds will be appropriated to the Minnesota Department of Aging to fund local organizations dedicated to providing caregiver support programs that serve Minnesotans in their homes and communities. The funds may also be used to provide respite care.
The American Academy of Neurology, The ALS Association and the American Brain Foundation have awarded the 2022 Sheila Essey Award to Matthew Kiernan of the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. We recently caught up with Dr. Kiernan on Connecting ALS to discuss advances in ALS research since he first entered the field and how the Essey Award will help move his research forward.
Volunteering for The ALS Association is the longest I’ve ever done anything in my life. There’s always more to be done, but creating an environment, virtual or in-person, where people impacted by ALS feel welcome, empowered, and heard is so important.
Earlier today the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee voted 6 to 4 against recommending AMX0035 for approval to treat people with ALS. It’s important to note that the Advisory Committee’s views are not binding on the FDA. Following the vote, the ALS Association called on the FDA to take into account the strong safety profile of AMX0035, as well as the serious unmet medical need of people living with this devastating condition, and approve the drug for clinical use.
The ALS Association’s Seed Grants support generation of preliminary data that will ultimately serve as the basis for larger grants that fund impactful research in ALS.
On a recent Connecting ALS podcast episode, Maintaining Mobility, we sat down with Shannon Terrell, Doctor of Physical Therapy at the Kaiser ALS clinic in Colorado to learn more about her experience treating people living with ALS and get her thoughts about how she helps her patients manage their mobility.
Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals have decided to discontinue research testing the investigational drug BIIB078 after a phase 1 clinical trial did not meet any secondary endpoints on efficacy and did not demonstrate clinical benefit.