Heather's love of music lives on today in the children

A Season of Love

Raising funds for ALS Research, ALS Canada, and, Coats for Kids (Salvation Army)
Sunday December 11
3 PM
Glen Morris United Church
Glen Morris

Tickets $20 Adults, $10 under 18, available from Lynn at Music Plus, or at the door.  Please consider bringing a winter coat for a needy child.

September 16, 2011: Edmonton – Recently published studies by a researcher
in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry demonstrate that ALS – known as Lou
Gehrig’s disease – damages neurons in parts of the brain responsible for
cognition and behaviour.

ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that eventually leaves patients
unable to move, breathe or swallow. Previous research has shown about 50 per
cent of patients with ALS also have mild cognitive and behavioural changes, but
between five and 15 per cent of patients can have severe changes resulting in
dementia. In Canada, between 2,500 and 3,000 people live with the disease. Most
die within two to five years of diagnosis.
Sanjay Kalra, a researcher in the
faculty’s Division of Neurology and a practising neurologist, has published two
papers this year in the American Journal of Neuroradiology providing evidence
that ALS affects more than just the motor cortex, the part of the brain
responsible for motor function.

“ALS was previously thought to be a
disease restricted to the motor system causing only weakness,” says Kalra, the
principal investigator in both peer-reviewed papers. “But a significant
proportion of people with ALS also have cognitive and behavioural changes. We
wanted to know how ALS was impacting other parts of the brain to cause these
symptoms.

“There is increasing evidence from pathological studies of ALS
patients post-mortem that not just the motor system is involved. Our research
supports this and demonstrates in those living with ALS, that the disease is
indeed attacking other parts of the brain. The cognitive and behavioural changes
we are seeing in patients are not reactive,” he says. “They are not happening
because someone is depressed or doesn’t have initiative because he is weak.
Those changes are happening because there are biological and chemical changes in
parts of the brain that are responsible for behaviour and cognition.”

Kalra uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) not to just look at pictures
of the brain, but also as a means of measuring the levels of various chemicals
in the brain. In his most recently published paper, he looked at two different
chemicals called NAA and mIns. NAA is known as a neural marker, which means it
is only found in neurons, while levels of mIns increase when there is abnormal
scarring in the brain.

“If NAA is decreased, it means neurons have died
or they are not working. Many papers have shown NAA to be decreased in regions
where you expect it to be decreased with ALS – the motor cortex. But our recent
study shows that these levels are also decreasing in areas of the brain
responsible for cognition and behaviour,” says Kalra.

His paper
published in early 2011 looked at decreasing levels of NAA in the cingulate
cortex – the first time MRI had been used to measure chemicals in this region of
the brain in ALS. And his most recently published paper, which came out late
this summer, was the first to demonstrate that NAA was decreasing and mIns was
increasing in the frontal lobe, even when there weren’t signs of cognitive or
behavioural issues in patients. The frontal lobe is considered the hub for
cognition and behaviour in the brain.

Kalra would like to continue his
research using MRI to track the changes in the brain of those who have ALS, and
to evaluate new drugs. Kalra is the leading researcher in Canada to use MRI to
study ALS. In November 2010, he was invited to give a presentation at Oxford
University, and earlier this year he collaborated with a number of international
researchers to write a commentary piece in Lancet Neurology about this growing
area of research.

He first became interested in studying ALS when he was
a neurology resident looking for a research project using MRI. He has continued
studying the disease ever since.

Funding for this research was provided
by the University Hospital Foundation, the MSI Foundation of Alberta, ALS
Society of Canada, ALS Association, and the Shelly Mrkonjic ALS Research
Fund.

For more information, please contact:
Raquel Maurier,
Communications Associate
780-492-5986 (office); 780-224-7751 (cell); raquel.maurier@ualberta.ca

You can read more about her here at the Globe and Mail, and listen to an interview with her on CBC’s  The Current .

Happy day to celebrate her life.

WATERLOO — The disease is terrible, steadily paralyzing Paul Chambers’ body.

“It’s a long death,” he said. “There’s no hope of fixing anything.”

Every day he gets weaker and sicker with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. That’s a tough reality for a man who was active every day, played just about every sport and taught physical education.

“It’s hard to watch your body fall apart,” said Chambers, 59.

But in the grip of such a dire illness, Chambers sees blessings.

“I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself,” he said.

Although the disease’s path is swift, with the majority of patients dying within two to five years of diagnosis, Chambers is thankful for the time he has still.

Time to be with family and friends. Time to prepare for his death. Time to cherish.

“If I had a heart attack and died, I wouldn’t have that opportunity,” Chambers said.

His many friends will join him at a June 11 fundraising walk benefiting the ALS Society of Canada for support services and research ( www.walkforals.ca). Last year, Chambers walked in the fundraiser. Now he needs a motorized wheelchair.

“ALS is a very unknown disease,” Chambers said. “It needs funding — not only funding for research, but funding for patients who are trying to make their quality of life as best as they can for the short time they have left.”

About 3,000 Canadians are living with the fatal disease with no treatment, cure or known cause. For every person diagnosed with the disease, another dies.

Come and support Paul and ALS research June 11 at Bingemans.  The 5 kilometre walk starts at 11 AM .

Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, Principal Investigator for the Ceftriaxone study, will hold an informational web seminar for people with ALS interested in learning more about the clinical trial of Ceftriaxone for ALS. This will be a time to learn about the scientific rationale behind the study, learn about study procedures, and ask questions. Interested people can join the seminar on Thursday, May5th, 2011 at 3:00 Eastern Standard Time.

The Ceftriaxone Study Webinar
May 5th, 2011
3:00 – 4:00 PM EST
Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc
Jeremy Shefner, MD, PhD
Jeff Rothstein, MD, PhD
Contact: Stitus@partners.org

Registration Instructions

1. Please register to join the meeting by going online to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/602945793

2. We recommend that you go online to register for the seminar a day or two before the seminar. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar including dial-in information.

The program will ask that you enter your first and last name upon registration. In the interest of privacy, we ask that you enter your initials only or your first name and last initial.

The Go-To-Webinar software is compatible with the following computer systems:
- PC Based attendees: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003
- Server Macintosh Based attendees: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Please register early, space is limited. This study is taking place in the United States and Canada. Call-in information will be available for participants from these countries.

More information is available here.

I think there are many in our community who could have entered it had they known.

Check here for the details.

Click here, and watch the video.

Thanks Zack for being a friend of ALS.  Thank you everyone for your continued support.