MDA AWARDS $330K TO RENOWNED HOUSTON PHYSICIAN-RESEARCHER STUDYING ALS

TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 18, 2010 – Stanley H. Appel, M.D., chairman of the Department of Neurology at The Methodist Hospital in Houston has just been awarded $330,000 in new funding from the Muscular Dystrophy Association to study the protective effects of a specific class of immune system cells in ALS.  Of the world’s foremost experts on ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), Appel has devoted more than 40 years in both the clinic and laboratory to helping people affected by this and other degenerative neuromuscular disorders.

MDA, which is the world’s leading nongovernmental funder of ALS research, has, over the years, invested more than $6 million in ALS research conducted by Appel and his team.

Stanley H. Appel, M.D.

“Stan has treated more than 3,000 ALS patients, more than any other physician in the United States,” said R. Rodney Howell, M.D., chairman of the MDA Board of Directors.  “His clinical understanding of this most devastating disease is unrivaled, and this represents a distinct advantage for his research efforts.” 
Appel, who has trained 200 neurologists during his distinguished career, describes his motivation for ALS research succinctly:  “Of all the diseases that affect mankind, ALS is one of the most horrific for the patients, as it is for the family. That started us on the road, and we’ve been committed to solving this disease ever since.’’

Appel serves as chairman of the MDA Medical Advisory Committee.  His new three-year project is part of the $14.1 million in new research funding that was approved during the Association’s July Board meeting.
“What this grant is all about and what we need to investigate,’’ Appel said, “are the T-cells.  These lymphocytes can be ‘good guys’ and protective early in the disease and can be ‘bad guys’ in later stages of ALS; and we need to determine whether they protect or injure motor neurons directly or indirectly.  The major clinical benefit will come when we learn how to increase the ‘good guy’ T-cells, and get rid of the ‘bad guy’ T-cells.”

To learn more about Dr. Appel and his current project, listen to his recent podcast.

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.  Grant applications submitted by Committee members, including Dr. Appel, are reviewed separately by an independent panel of scientific and medical experts.
According to Howell, “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 toward 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 simultaneously enhanced clinical care for individuals affected by muscle disorders, achieving important quality of life and longevity gains.  The Association, which has invested almost $39 million in 2010 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 (CMA) 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 in helping to see outcome measures for those clinical trials.