ALS Alert mastheadALS Alert mastheadWinter 2002 - Science. Scope. Speed

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Research
People and Events

In This Issue:

Celebrex: Let the Trials Begin
It’s good for arthritis, it’s under study for Alzheimer’s, and last month, national trials got under way exploring the anti-inflammation drug Celebrex as a possible ALS therapy. At the Center for ALS Research and 24 other sites, volunteers in early stages of the disease have begun receiving daily high doses.

Sponging Up Glutamate? Good Idea
A new study by Center scientist Margaret Sutherland, Ph.D., not only shores up a long-held idea on a major source of cell damage in ALS but also shows something can be done to fix it, at least in mice.

An Eye on the Shore
Centerwide stem cell research keeps hopes afloat in its early stages. But so far, every study answers questions that lead to more.

The New Rat Model: Bigger Is Better
A new rat model of the disease that’s far easier to work with and more versatile than earlier mouse models.

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On Center: Fund-Raisers’ Bounty Keeps Center on Track

photo - Patient/ALS advocate Laurie Russell and Director Jeffrey Rothstein obviously enjoy the benefit.  
Patient/ALS advocate Laurie Russell and Director Jeffrey Rothstein obviously enjoy the benefit.

It’s a rare foundation that doesn’t have to depend on fund raising. With the Center for ALS Research, dedicated as it is to a high volume and a rapid turnout of lab results, benefits and such events are crucial. But even for this stepped-up place, the pace has been fast.

Last June, more than a hundred friends of Hopkins patient and ALS advocate Laurie Russell gathered together one balmy evening at the Baltimore-area home of Carol and Harry Weiskittel III for a benefit in Russell’s honor. Food and entertainment—even the Elvis impersonator—were a success, as was the event. With more than $100,000 donated, the Friends of Laurie Russell bought the Center a new confocal microscope, a necessity for stem cell research.

At summer’s end in August and again in early October, the Center received another windfall, this time from the Baltimore Orioles. With the retirement of Cal Ripken, Orioles’ Vice Chairman and COO Joe Foss suggested a way to honor the star player and help ALS research: sell benefit tickets to their 50-seat skybox. Center supporters who attended got to see one of Cal’s last games. They cruised the bountiful buffet and enjoyed guided tours of Oriole Park. Ticket sales as well as a 50-50 raffle netted $35,000 for the Center.

photo - On Oct. 8, at New York’s famed Tavern on the Green, a pull-out-the-stops benefit dinner, entertainment and live auction earned $670,000, to be shared between the Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. The event, called “Wings of Hope,” was the idea of ALS patient Toni Diamond. Diamond is a former United Airlines stewardess. Her committee of friends and New York notables organized the benefit, under the auspices of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, with sponsorship that included United Airlines.   

On Oct. 8, at New York’s famed Tavern on the Green, a pull-out-the-stops benefit dinner, entertainment and live auction earned $670,000, to be shared between the Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. The event, called “Wings of Hope,” was the idea of ALS patient Toni Diamond. Diamond is a former United Airlines stewardess. Her committee of friends and New York notables organized the benefit, under the auspices of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, with sponsorship that included United Airlines.

After the auction, ably run by actors Billy and Stephen Baldwin, all attention shifted to an awards ceremony naming Center Director Jeffrey Rothstein as the first recipient of the annual Diamond Award for ALS Research. The award, a simple but elegant engraved crystal trophy, includes a $320,000 prize to support Center research grants.

Next > Insider’s View
Daniel Drachman, M.D., is a longtime Hopkins neurologist / researcher who specializes in neuromuscular diseases. In this column he answers questions.

 

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Special Features:

Vantage point
One of the most satisfying things about directing the Center has been watching the shift in our thinking about the biology of ALS.

On Center: Fund-Raisers’ Bounty Keeps Center on Track
It’s a rare foundation that doesn’t have to depend on fund raising. With the Center for ALS Research, dedicated as it is to a high volume and a rapid turnout of lab results, benefits and such events are crucial. But even for this stepped-up place, the pace has been fast.

Insider’s View
Daniel Drachman, M.D., is a longtime 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: Orioles Hit Home Runs for ALS
With the Orioles and ALS research, the connection was serendipity. Everything just fell into place the summer of 1995, when Oriole great Cal Ripken was on the verge of breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games-
played record.

Being resourceful
Links to useful information

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