ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Progress
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Independence Day Marks Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s Legendary Farewell Speech to Baseball Pace of ALS research today brings hope to people living with ALS Editor’s Note: ALS medical experts and people with ALS available for interviews. (July 1, 2013) – Nearly 74 years ago, on July 4, 1939, Major League Baseball legend Lou Gehrig stood before tearful fans at Yankee Stadium and declared himself to be “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” It was on that day that so many Americans first became aware of a disease that few had ever heard of before – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which would thereafter be known to millions as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in remembrance. Since Lou Gehrig’s death, less than two years after that famous farewell speech, the quest to find a cure for ALS has frustrated medical researchers. However, in recent years, scientists have been making valuable new discoveries which are bringing them closer than ever before to their goal of treating and curing ALS. “For decades, progress was painstakingly slow and left people with little hope for a cure,” said Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., Chief Scientist for The ALS Association. “Now, our understanding of ALS is moving rapidly in a very positive direction which makes us more hopeful than ever that we will win this fight against ALS.” The ALS Association, since it was formed in 1985, has been on the forefront of research into Lou Gehrig’s Disease and has committed more than $67 million toward the goal of finding effective treatments and a cure for ALS. “Every day, we are gaining a better understanding of how this disease attacks motor neurons and slowly steals the body’s ability to function,” said Fred Fisher, President and CEO, The ALS Association Golden West Chapter. The baseball community continues to remember Lou Gehrig and sponsors numerous events every July to spread awareness about ALS to thousands of fans. This year, you can celebrate Independence Day and help fight ALS at one of these fun events:
About ALS ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that
affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with
ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads
to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. For unknown
reasons, veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as the general population.
There is no cure, and only one drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration modestly extends survival. About The ALS Association and The Golden West Chapter ### |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Independence Day Marks Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s Legendary Farewell Speech to Baseball Pace of ALS research today brings hope to people living with ALS Editor’s Note: ALS medical experts and people with ALS available for interviews. (July 1, 2013) – Nearly 74 years ago, on July 4, 1939, Major League Baseball legend Lou Gehrig stood before tearful fans at Yankee Stadium and declared himself to be “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” It was on that day that so many Americans first became aware of a disease that few had ever heard of before – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which would thereafter be known to millions as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in remembrance. Since Lou Gehrig’s death, less than two years after that famous farewell speech, the quest to find a cure for ALS has frustrated medical researchers. However, in recent years, scientists have been making valuable new discoveries which are bringing them closer than ever before to their goal of treating and curing ALS. “For decades, progress was painstakingly slow and left people with little hope for a cure,” said Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., Chief Scientist for The ALS Association. “Now, our understanding of ALS is moving rapidly in a very positive direction which makes us more hopeful than ever that we will win this fight against ALS.” The ALS Association, since it was formed in 1985, has been on the forefront of research into Lou Gehrig’s Disease and has committed more than $67 million toward the goal of finding effective treatments and a cure for ALS. “Every day, we are gaining a better understanding of how this disease attacks motor neurons and slowly steals the body’s ability to function,” said Fred Fisher, President and CEO, The ALS Association Golden West Chapter. The baseball community continues to remember Lou Gehrig and sponsors numerous events every July to spread awareness about ALS to thousands of fans. This year, you can celebrate Independence Day and help fight ALS at one of these fun events:
About ALS ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that
affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with
ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads
to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. For unknown
reasons, veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as the general population.
There is no cure, and only one drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration modestly extends survival. About The ALS Association and The Golden West Chapter ### |
