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Center Web Site
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People and Events |
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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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About ALS Alert |
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On Center: New Name and ‘Wings’
Give Center Zing
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Actor William Baldwin, Michael Beier and his family acknowledge
approval of this year’s Wings Over Wall Street gala.
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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—a
world-class gala to benefit ALS research. More than a year in
the planning and a sequel to last year’s Wings of Hope,
WOWS combined corporate sponsorships, auctions and camaraderie.
One innovative session offered the chance to support blocks of
research time—come buy an hour of research in an ALS lab.
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What’s in a Name?
A few months earlier, on July 12, a key event in
the Center’s young life took place at the Hopkins
medical school campus: announcement of a name change and
official sponsorship. At an upbeat, well-attended dedication
ceremony, William Brody, president of The Johns Hopkins
University, formally accepted the newly named Robert Packard
Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins on the University’s
behalf. In adding the name and gaining $5 million in funding,
the Center acknowledges The Robert Packard Foundation as
a major supporter. Several moving speeches, including one
by John T. Packard, a member of the Center’s board
of governors and father of the young investment banker who
devoted his last years to improving the lot of ALS research,
kept the goal well in mind.
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The event wasn’t without its moments. When actor William
Baldwin stepped up to introduce a video about his friend and Center
board of governors member Michael Beier, who’s also an ALS
patient and chair of this year’s “Wings’”organizing
committee, Baldwin had trouble quieting the festive crowd. But
after the video describing how Beier faces life head-on, one guest
observed, “you could’ve heard a pin drop.”
Wings Over Wall Street, sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association,
greatly helps both The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research
at Johns Hopkins and the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Center
at Columbia University. In all, $1.8 million was raised to be
split between both.
Next > Insider’s
View
Nicholas Maragakis, M.D., is a Hopkins neurologist/researcher
who specializes in neuromuscular diseases. In this column he answers
questions.
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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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