Bedford Minuteman
By Paul M. Furfari/ Staff Writer
Thursday, April 21, 2005

In conjunction with the Massachusetts General Hospital's Neurology Clinical Trials Unit, Bedford's Edith Nourse Rogers Veterans Memorial Hospital will coordinate a national trial to test a new therapy designed for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients.

ALS, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," "is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord," reads a description of the disease from the ALS Association's Web site.

"We are excited that the VA at Bedford is taking the lead of this important program. Due to the commitment of the administrative leadership and an outstanding research team at Bedford, we are able to provide the best health research in ALS for our veterans that we can," said Dr. Ben Cipolloni, associate chief of staff for research. "Our goal is to help our veterans and also all those with ALS."

In a recent study at Massachusetts General Hospital, a treatment proved to be effective in mice with ALS by "preventing neuron damage by correcting cell death messages," a release from the VA said.

ALS symptoms include muscle weakness, twitching, cramping in the hands and feet, difficulty projecting voice and in advanced stages shortness of breath and difficulty breathing and swallowing.

"The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected," the site reads.

"There is no cure for ALS and no proven therapy that halts the progression of the disease. Military personnel have an increased risk of developing ALS and veterans deployed in the Gulf War have nearly a two-fold increased risk of developing the disease," according to the VA.

Recent studies have shown that people taking vitamin E over a period years have a more than 50 percent increased chance of being stricken with ALS.

VA sites for the trial are Bedford, Houston, Lexington, KY, Syracuse, Durham and Iowa City. Non-VA sites for the trial include Mass. General in Charlestown and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.