ALS Alert mastheadALS Alert mastheadSpring 2003 - Science. Scope. Speed

ALS Center Web Site
Research
People and Events

In This Issue:

Drug Trinity Shows Unexpected Strength
Jean-Pierre Julien—his “cocktail” does wonders for ALS mice.

From Iceland: A New Way to Decode ALS Genes
In Iceland, a country of roughly 300,000 citizens, ALS is pretty much unknown. If you wanted to find genes tied to that disease, it’s an unlikely spot for a search. But from that country may come, if not the genes themselves, a superior way to track them down.

Getting to the
Heart of It
With ALS, many of the simplest questions remain unanswered. ‘That just won’t do,’ say Center scientists.

One Step Closer to the Bedside
The Basics Bolster Stem Cell Therapy.

Available Issues:

Winter 2001/2002
Fall 2002
Spring 2003
Fall 2003
Spring 2004
Fall 2004
Winter 2005
Spring/Summer 2005
Fall 2005
Winter 2006

About ALS Alert

Runners, Walkers Make Feet Fly to Help the Center

photo - Angell’s winning form will help the Center to the cure.  
Angell’s winning form will help the Center to the cure.
   

I ran the New York City Marathon in 1998 as part of a charity team,” says Margaret Angell, now 26, “and it was fantastic.” A few months earlier, Angell’s mother had been diagnosed with ALS, and the two events had to have set the young woman’s mind in motion. By 2001, she’d cajoled friends—her “ALS Marathon Team”—into running in four separate races. Angell, who comes from a family well-versed in philanthropy, donated the team’s $500,000 in donations to research. But organizing the team, her job and heavy volunteer work took a toll. “I was close to burnout.”

This year, though, Angell got out the team once more. Lucky for us. The racers netted $150,000 and, this time, split the money between the Center and The ALS-Therapy Development Foundation in Boston. The gift has sparked a collaboration between the two groups, aimed at getting a test drug through preclinical stages in record time.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Karen Sammis and three friends are also running for those who can’t. Like Angell, Sammis is an athlete whose mother has ALS. Last year her group organized the first TriOne triathlon in Alameda, Calif.—no small accomplishment for women with full-time jobs—drawing 500 of the fittest and contributing $6,500 to the Center. “We think we’ll get 1,200 athletes this year,” says Sammis of the August 24 event.

At a gentler pace, determined walkers in North Oaks, Minn., also pounded pavement to raise money for The Packard Center. Their "Walk4Life," an event sponsored by the Playing 2 Win 4 Life Foundation for ALS Research, collected $50,000 for gene therapy and drug development studies. Playing 2 Win is the Chicago-based creation of Bob Basten, a corporate accounting maverick and new member of the Center’s board of governors.

Collaboration is in the air. This January, the Center announced its first funding partnership with The ALS Association. ALSA is helping support research of Center scientist Philip Wong, who’s working on a model of juvenile ALS. David Borchelt will also get help for his work linking specific SOD1 mutations with the disease process.

 

 

 

Next > Insider's View
Noah Lechtzin, M.D., is a Hopkins pulmonologist who sees ALS clinic patients regularly.

Sign up for ALS news, the print version of the newsletter and more:
   
Special Features:

Vantage Point
With approaches to ALS therapy, progress seems to move one step forward and a half step back.

On Center
Runners, Walkers Make Feet Fly to Help the Center.

Rich Soil for a Blooming Friendship
“About six years ago, I ran into Laura and I could tell something wasn’t right,” says Coleman, who now directs the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. “When I heard later she had ALS, I felt a bit strange in writing a personal letter out of the blue, but I sent it anyway.”

Insider's View
Noah Lechtzin, M.D., is a Hopkins pulmonologist who sees ALS clinic patients regularly.

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

A Friend Indeed
Ride for Life Keeps Center Rolling.

Make a Donation


© Copyright 2003 | All Rights Reserved | Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins
600 N. Wolfe Street, Meyer 6-109, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-5953 USA
Site Index Frequently Asked Questions Contact Us Hopkins Medicine