MDA Awards $2 Million to ALS TDI

MDA Awards $2 Million to ALS TDI
Through MDA's Augie's Quest program, the ALS Therapy Development Institute has been awarded an additional $2 million for drug development research

• MDA has awarded $2 million to the ALS Therapy Development Institute to support the Institute's ongoing drug development research.
• This latest award will support preclinical testing of several different potential therapeutic agents in the SOD1 research mouse model of ALS, and will help expand ALS TDI's research program to include the TDP43 mouse model of the disease.
• The new funding comes via MDA's Augie's Quest, an ALS research fundraising initiative, and brings the total amount MDA has awarded this nonprofit biotech company to more than $23.4 million since 2007.

To learn more, read the full ALS News Online article. Reactivated Virus May Contribute to ALS
Normally dormant viral DNA could be causing damage in brains affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

• Autopsy samples have shown a viral protein called HERV-K reverse transcriptase is much more prevalent in ALS brain samples than in brain samples from people who died from other causes.
• HERV-K is a "human endogenous retrovirus," a type of virus that often inserts itself into the human genome but is usually dormant.
• There is evidence that the HERV-K virus is abnormally activated in the ALS samples studied.
• If the HERV-K virus is activated and producing one or more proteins, blocking its activity or its proteins could be beneficial in ALS.

To learn more, read the full ALS News Online article. www.als-mda.org
Scott Wiebe
National Director - Outreach Services & ALS Division

World Leader in ALS Research and Services