Author: blazeman

Five years ago we created the Blazeman Post-Doc in the Rodal Lab at Brandies University. This collaboration resulted in many accomplishments. End of year 5 report and summary, overall achievements, and letters of thanks from Drs. Rodal and Deshpande.

The BMF for ALS is pleased to announce the expansion of the Blazeman ALS tissue collection in collaboration with the University of Maryland Brain and Tissue Bank. This donation, made possible by your donations to the Foundation, will support the procurement of ALS tissue which is necessary for finding a cure.

A potential drug to treat motor neurone disease (MND) is set to emerge from a partnership between The University of Queensland and the Queensland Government.

University of Maryland Brain and Tissue Bank continues to promote the distribution of tissue from their Bank for ALS research to find a cure. The Bank has shipped more samples of ALS tissue over the past 5 months than the past 2 years combined!

The Mulligan Lab at Wake Forest University was working on a dose response study of the Hsp70 protein with the hopes that their ALS scientists and clinicians would be able to start to design initial clinical trials in patients. Unexpectedly, the protein does not prevent neuromuscular junction denervation in the mouse model of ALS.

A new research article published in Scientific Reports describes recent results from Brandeis University. This work sought to understand how TDP-43, a gene closely linked to ALS, alters the growth and branching of mammalian neurons grown in a dish.

Tissue donation, harvesting, and storage is a much needed aspect in the WaronALS and finding a cure. Your fundraising has allowed the BMF to purchase two large (-)80 degree Celsius freezers that will allow University of Maryland Brain and Tissue Bank to continue to recover tissue from the generous ALS community. Dedication of these freezers in Jon’s memory took place on August 30th, Jon’s birthday. More information available in our newsletter on the Research page.

A warm thank you to all the participants in the 2017 Death Ride Tour VIII in Colorado. The BMF received a $15,000 donation so that we can continue to support innovative research and the ALS tissue acquisition program. Visit their website to learn about how you can participate in the 2017 Death Ride Tour Fall Blaze happening this October in Massachusetts.

Your donation dollars go directly to supporting ALS research. One means of support is through the Blazeman Post-Doc position at Brandeis University. Training the next generation of ALS researchers is instrumental for finding a cure.

In a collaborative study between the National Institute of Health, the University of Maryland and the University of Michigan, researchers used a 7 tesla (high intensity) MRI to image the donated brains from donors with ALS and compared the findings to those obtained from donors without ALS. The spinal cord, brain and muscle samples used in the study were recovered by the University of Maryland Brain and Tissue Bank, which is supported by a grant from the Blazeman Foundation. Dr. Kwan (co-author) provides a summary of the study. For a more in-depth analysis, read the journal article from NeuroImage: Clinical 15 (2017) 200-208.