Category: News

Update on the third year of research supported by the Blazeman Foundation for ALS to the Rodal Lab that resulted in a primary research article (currently under peer review), as well as a published review article.

The BMF supports the efforts of the University of Maryland Brain and Tissue Bank in ALS Tissue recovery. Tissue donation by pALS is one of the greatest contributions to finding a cure. Over the past year, the BMF has assisted seven families with the costs involved in this ultimate gift.

The Rodal lab submitted their first paper describing the Blazeman-funded work a few months ago (to the Journal of Neuroscience), and the peer reviewers were very positive about it. The reviewers asked the lab to do a few more experiments before it can be accepted, and they’re working very hard on completing those. In the meantime, they are also working very hard on a second paper that incorporates work from mammalian neurons. Drs. Deshpande and Rodal were also invited to write a review article summarizing the current status of the field, and how studying transport in neurons has led to increased understanding of neurological disease.

The Milligan lab wishes to thank the Blazeman Foundation and all ALS Warriors for continued support of their work. While this progress report focuses on our recombinant Hsp70 protein as a potential therapeutic for ALS, they have included pictures of the members of the lab and the projects on which they focus their efforts.

The Blazeman Foundation for ALS has announced its most recent gift to fund research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, raising its total commitment to nearly $250,000.  Read more.

Significant progress has been made this year in deciphering where receptors have been shifted in the ALS model flies, and why. While we had previously discovered that growth signaling receptors were lost from an early endosome in the ALS model flies, we did not yet know to where they had been diverted. This year, we discovered that the receptors had been shifted to a recycling endosome compartment (which is responsible for sending receptors back to the cell
surface). Update on Brandeis project, including next steps.

Researchers at Wake Forest have found a new treatment that may delay the onset of symptoms and increase the lifespan for those who are afflicted with ALS. The study was conducted in the mutant SOD1 mouse model of ALS and <a href=”/uploaded/Research WFU/Hsp70 project continue request Sept 2015.pdf”>plan to continue</a> to modify purification protocols, dosage studies in mice, and seek independent confirmation of effect. These studies will provide essential pre-clinical results so they can apply to move forward to patient studies (apply for an IND with the USFDA).

Wake Forest Baptist Health intends to provide <a href=”/uploaded/Research WFU/WFU March 2015.pdf”>another year of funding</a> for the HSP70 project in Dr. Carol Milligan’s lab. This money is intended to help cover the cost of a dose response trial in mice and to develop a reliable detection assay for the HSP70 protein.