MDA AWARDS $525K TO ATLANTA RESEARCHER SEEKING EARLIER DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENTS FOR ALS
TUCSON, Ariz., Aug.18, 2010 – Dr. Michael Benatar believes that we need a paradigm shift in our approach to studying ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease). With nearly a half-million dollar grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association three years ago, he initiated Pre-fALS - a study of people who are not yet exhibiting symptoms of ALS but who, because of family history, are potentially at risk of developing the disease. “Examining people at genetic risk for ALS is currently the only viable approach to studying ALS before symptoms begin,” Dr. Benatar said.
MDA has awarded the Emory University clinical researcher $525,000 in new funding to extend the initiative, with the ultimate goal of identifying specific ways of delaying or even preventing the onset of ALS in at-risk individuals. MDA is the world’s leading non-governmental funder of ALS research. MDA is the world’s leading governmental funder of ALS research.
 | | Dr. Michael Benatar |
“We’re studying the rare familial form of ALS, as we think it sheds light on all forms of ALS,’’ Dr. Benatar explained. “What’s more, there are ideas and themes that are common to neurodegenerative diseases other than ALS, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, which also have rare familial forms, and Huntington’s disease, which is always familial. I certainly think that advances in one of these fields will have potential implications for others.’’
Benatar is one of 38 research leaders receiving new multi-year awards from MDA. His three-year project is part of the $14.1 million in new research funding approved during the Association’s July board meeting. This is his fourth grant. To date, he’s been awarded over one million dollars by MDA.
“MDA plays a very important role in all this because it’s impossible to do the research unless there are resources,’’ Benatar said. “The MDA is tremendously helpful in focusing resources towards diseases like ALS and in finding cures for things that are rare and that might otherwise be neglected. MDA brings a focus to ALS research.’’ To learn more about Dr. Benatar and his current project, listen to his recent MDA Q&A podcast or read the transcript of that interview.
“Our best hope for being able to treat ALS would be to diagnose it at its earliest stage, even before symptoms surface,” said Stanley H. Appel, M.D., chairman of the MDA Medical Advisory Committee and himself an ALS research pioneer. “Through this long-term investigation by Dr. Benatar’s outstanding research team, we hope to have a set of powerful diagnostic biomarkers so we can begin treatments as quickly as possible, before the patient’s health has declined.
“Equally exciting,” added Dr. Appel, “is the possibility that Dr. Benatar’s research will reveal entirely new drug targets for fighting ALS.”
Research grant applications are peer-reviewed twice yearly by MDA’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Committees, comprising world-renowned experts in neuromuscular disease research. The most promising of some 500 applications received each year are recommended for funding to the MDA Board of Directors.
According to R. Rodney Howell, M.D., chairman of the MDA Board of Directors, “generous Americans responding to the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, and to thousands of other special events benefiting the families served by MDA, deserve much of the credit for the rapid progress being made towards treatments for neuromuscular diseases. It’s their strong belief in MDA’s capable stewardship of public funds that’s enabling so much to be accomplished – even in a sluggish economy.”
Often credited for its leadership in building the field of neuromuscular disease research, MDA has enhanced clinical care for individuals affected by muscle disorders, achieving important quality of life and longevity gains. The Association, which annually invests about $36 million in research worldwide, is the first nonprofit to earn a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Medical Association (“for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity”).
MDA-funded scientists have uncovered the genetic defects that cause several forms of muscular dystrophy; Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT); a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease); childhood spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and other neuromuscular conditions. Now entering a period of increasing numbers of clinical trials of potential therapeutics, the Association’s network of approximately 200 hospital-affiliated clinics is instrumental in identifying appropriate candidates for clinical trials; and to help refine outcome measures for those clinical trials.
More than one million people in America are affected by neuromuscular diseases.
Residents of the Atlanta area who are affected by any of the 43 muscle diseases covered by MDA’s program can receive excellent medical care at the MDA Clinics at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite and Emory University; the MDA/ALS Center at Emory University School of Medicine; and the Emory MDA/Myasthenia Gravis Clinic founded and directed by Dr. Benatar.
MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education. For more information on MDA research and programs, go to www.mda.org.
For more information about these new grants, visit MDA's "Grants at a Glance," an online slideshow that showcases each grant with photos and detailed information. |
