ALS Alert - Robert Packard Center for ALS Research

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Fall 2002 - Science. Scope. Speed

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In This Issue:

New Drug Screen: Uncle Sam’s Grand Present
Late this summer, 12 potential new ALS drugs—a jaw-dropping number—made their way into the Center’s first stages of animal testing thanks to an unusual project linking Center scientists and researchers across the country.

Center Scientist Eyes Key Step in Cells’ ‘Death March’
A current hot spot in als research centers on something long ignored as a source of trouble in the disease: the mitochondria. The plentiful, often jellybean-shaped cell bodies are dubbed the cell’s powerhouses because they generate most of its energy.

Accentuate the Positive
Some Center scientists, eying a cure, seek the cause of ALS. Others study how it damages cells. But a third group’s work may lessen immediate misery: They’re learning the basics of damage control and repair.

The Aggregate Dilemma: Too Obvious to Ignore
For years, scientists have noted obvious clumps of protein in motor neurons of patients with both sporadic and inherited forms of ALS—those who have a mutated gene for the SOD1 enzyme.

A Wedding to Remember
“I’ve come to realize what good friends are. People you knew but didn’t know have become friends. There’s a depth to it I hadn’t experienced before.”

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A Wedding to Remember

Joan Talmage raised her daughter right. Before Karen was married this April, she’d included a small note in her wedding invitations that read: In lieu of gifts, if you care to give a donation, please send it to the Joan Talmage ALS Gift Fund. “We debated about doing that,” says Talmage, an ALS patient. “Illness isn’t something you want to focus on at such a time.” But her daughter was adamant.

Because Talmage has been athletic, with aerobics, tennis or golf several times a week, she has found one aspect of ALS especially trying. “The hardest thing is not being able to put your feet down and just walk! I miss the physical act of it. Movement was such a part of me.”

But Talmage, who lives in South Carolina with her husband, Jim, has an active social life. “I’ve come to realize what good friends are. People you knew but didn’t know have become friends. There’s a depth to it I hadn’t experienced before.”

Friends aplenty came to the wedding, a lovely affair. “It was at an old plantation in Charleston, in the bloom of spring,” says Talmage, “and Karen was married on the croquet court!” By the night of the wedding, the new Mrs. Ellis had raised $25,000 for the Center.

Next > Vantage point
What, exactly, does ALS do to motor neuron cells? In this issue, several of our articles feature the Center’s efforts to answer that crucial question.

Special Features:

Vantage point
What, exactly, does ALS do to motor neuron cells? In this issue, several of our articles feature the Center’s efforts to answer that crucial question.

On Center: New Name and ‘Wings’ Give Center Zing
Put 1,700 Wall Street investment bankers, ALS patients and supporters in one of the New York Marriott Marquis’ grand ballrooms, add hors d’oeuvres and some Hollywood “biggies” and you have this year’s Wings Over Wall Street.

Insider’s View
Nicholas Maragakis, M.D., is a Hopkins neurologist/researcher who specializes in neuromuscular diseases. In this column he answers questions.

From the Clinic
Lora Clawson, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., manages Johns Hopkins’ ALS clinic. She also oversees its clinical trials. In this column she answers typical patients’ questions.

A Friend Indeed
With ALS Support, It’s Never ‘Too Many Cooks’

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