The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has initiated a nationwide
registry of living veterans who have ALS. This effort is directed by the
Epidemiological Research and Information Center at the VA Medical Center
in Durham, North Carolina with cooperation from the VA Medical Center in
Lexington, Kentucky. ALSA is advising study leaders and is participating
in the registry by letting all in the ALS community know about this new
opportunity.

The purpose of the registry is to help clarify the patterns of ALS among
veterans and to provide valuable data for future studies. Any living
veteran who has been diagnosed by a physician as having ALS is eligible to
enroll in the registry. For more information about the VA registry, call
the VA study coordinators toll-free at 1-877-342-5257.

?The ALS Association (ALSA) is pleased that the Department of Veterans
Affairs has created this registry of veterans living with ALS,? said Mary
Lyon, vice president of patient services at ALSA. ?The registry is an
important tool in learning more about ALS and offers an opportunity for
research investigations into the cause of and treatment for ALS.?

As it did with the VA's Gulf War ALS study, ALSA will assist in creating
awareness about the registry among veterans with ALS. As the only national
not-for-profit voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight
against ALS, ALSA is an immediate resource for veterans for a myriad of
local patient and family services and programs provided by ALSA's 82 local
affiliates across the country.

For more information, contact alsinfo@alsa-national.org.