Striking a Hopeful Note: The Einhorn Story

Some of the Einhorn family. From left, Zohar, Baruch, Hamutal and Talia.

Nothing in the lives of Baruch and Talia Einhorn and their family could have prepared them for the shocking news that Baruch had ALS. “It was like a sledgehammer pounded our heads,” says Talia, his wife of 31 years.

It started in the classic way: Baruch’s gait became a limp. Then he had trouble getting the key through the front door lock. Little by little, the retired IBM executive noted with dismay that his body was betraying him.

Talia, Baruch and their four children have always been close and needed no trauma to make them closer. Nonetheless the illness has inspired them to make the most of every passing day. And from opposite sides of the globe, they were led to the Packard Center.

An adjunct professor of law at Tel Aviv University Faculty of Management, Talia set out to study the illness. It didn’t take her long to find Jeff Rothstein’s work. “The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research kept coming up on my searches,” she says. “Dr. Rothstein and his team have distinguished themselves as leaders in this fight by carrying out many important, innovative studies that feature prominently in ALS research.” The Einhorn family was impressed by the Center’s collaboration with numerous other ALS research centers. “Such openness and cooperation inspired us with confidence that this illness has found its match,” she adds.

Meanwhile daughter Hamutal Einhorn, responsible for sales systems at Check Point Software Technologies, had never even heard of ALS. Heartbroken by her father’s diagnosis, she was intrigued by Rothstein’s work with gene therapy in mice. Then, in May 2003, Hamutal attended a conference in Washington, D.C., and happened to meet a neuroscientist from Hopkins who praised the ALS Center. He hooked her up with Jeff Rothstein.

With her father’s condition always on her mind, Hamutal felt compelled to expedite the search for a treatment. Her response was to make a substantial donation to the Packard Center on behalf of the family. The gift illustrates the Center’s increasing international stature.

“Supporting research is an active and positive way to relieve our sense of helplessness,” observes Hamutal. Both she and her mother acknowledge the sadness they feel about ALS, a disease that as yet has no cure. “But many great discoveries are spurred by personal tragedies,” says Talia. “We hope the research will help get us out of the illness or at least stop its progress. The most beautiful music can sometimes be bred from grief rather than joy.”

Next > Mitochondrial Mess
A few years ago, nobody paid any mind—ALS-wise—to the tiny cell structures. “Journal editors would say ‘Your work is fine, but there’s no interest,'” shrugs Center researcher Zuoshang Xu. Now scientists believe mitochondria lie at the heart of what actually kills cells in the disease.