MDA HIGHLIGHTS ALS DURING MAY

TUCSON, Ariz., May 1, 2006 – The Muscular Dystrophy Association will commemorate the 15th annual national ALS Awareness Month in May with activities across the country and a campaign of information on ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Since the early 1950s, when Eleanor Gehrig served as a national volunteer leader of MDA, the Association has led the way in research and services to assist those affected by the disorder that takes its name from her husband, baseball great Lou Gehrig, who died of ALS in 1941.

The deadly neuromuscular disorder attacks the nerve cells that control muscle cells, weakening muscles until they’re nonfunctional and paralyzed. The average life expectancy is three to five years after an ALS diagnosis.

More than 30,000 Americans are affected by ALS, and the cause of the disease is still unknown.

During ALS Awareness Month, many communities will hold events designed to educate local residents about MDA’s ALS program. The Association also has issued a new series of TV and print public service announcements, featuring the co-chairpersons of MDA’s ALS Division, Augie and Lynne Nieto of Corona del Mar, Calif.

“MDA researchers have uncovered many promising leads toward an effective treatment to stop, slow down or reverse the effects of ALS,” said Augie Nieto, 48, who received a diagnosis of ALS in 2005. “We’re putting every effort into fast-tracking these leads into clinical trials and treatments as rapidly as possible.”

Nieto is captaining “Augie’s Quest,” an aggressive, cure-driven effort singularly focused on treatments and cures for ALS. Augie’s Quest has campaign has raised over $4 million since it began in 2005.

MDA provides medical care for those with ALS at 37 MDA/ALS centers at major medical institutions, and at some 240 hospital-affiliated MDA clinics across the country, where those with more than 40 neuromuscular diseases are treated.

Other services in MDA’s ALS program include assistance with purchase of wheelchairs and communication devices, support groups, loans of medical equipment, and a Web site, www.als-mda.org.

MDA’s ALS Division also offers the monthly MDA/ALS Newsmagazine and other ALS-specific publications to keep those affected by the disease informed of the latest research findings and medical treatment information.

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