On Nov. 19, 2014, ALS Canada announced a partnership with Brain Canada that kicked off with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. One year later, ALS Societies and Brain Canada announced that in one year, $15 million has been invested in ALS research in Canada, an increase of ten times over previous annual commitments. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes the nerve cells that control muscle function to die, leading to loss of mobility and speech, as well as an eventual impact on the individual’s ability to breathe. ALS is a terminal disease with no cure or effective treatment, and most people are given a prognosis of two to five years from the time of their diagnosis.
“We are committed to funding the most promising research through the ALS Canada Research Program, to make ALS a treatable disease,” said Tammy Moore, CEO of the ALS Society of Canada, in a press release.
According to the ALS Society of Canada, research has come further in the past five to seven years than the previous century, and this unprecedented investment in research is a positive step to continuing this acceleration.
“Never before have we had the financial resources to be able to fund multi-collaborative research projects across leading academic institutions to the extent we can today,” said Moore. “It is because of the generosity of Canadians who embraced the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and the investment from the federal government’s Canada Brain Research Fund through Brain Canada.”
Inez Jabalpurwala, President and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation, said in a press release, “Through this partnership, we have been able to attract researchers from different disciplines and institutions whose expertise covers a range of neurodegenerative diseases. This will accelerate our understanding of ALS, and bring us closer to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and ultimately a cure for this devastating disease.”
Some of the research funded this year includes investigation into therapeutic benefits preventing the inflammation in the body that causes the death of motor neurons, conducted at Universite Laval; exploration of MRI techniques for early diagnosis that will also help to monitor disease progression and determine the efficacy of treatments, conducted at the University of Alberta; understanding the impact of toxic proteins on motor neurons at the University of Toronto; research into the removal of a toxic protein through a simple injection into the bloodstream rather than an injection into spinal fluid, conducted at the University of Manitoba; and research on the abnormal formation of stress granules in ALS patients that impact motor neurons, and understanding how this may help to slow disease progression, conducted at the Universite de Montreal.
“We are pleased to be able to make these historical investments today, but it is critical to raise significant funds in 2016 to support the ALS Canada Research Program so we can build on the momentum of discoveries we expect from these projects,” said Moore in a press release. “Canada is positioned as a leader in ALS research, consistently in the top five countries for ALS discoveries and the ALS Canada Research Program has been a critical contributor to that success.”