The challenge became a viral sensation in 2014 and raised $115 million for the association.
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Hopefully this is just the first discovery in the long battle against ALS as researchers and medical professionals continue to work hard at ridding the world of the awful disease.
Seventeen million wasted buckets of ice water later, we have a breakthrough in ALS research.
According to ALS Association, understanding the gene’s role will help develop new target therapy for ALS.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Out of these cases at least 90% of them occur without any previous family history of the disease and around 10% of them are genetic in nature.
Having raised almost a quarter of a billion dollars in worldwide donations through the now-famous Ice Bucket Challenge, the ALS Association announced that one of the scientific efforts it funds has achieved a “significant gene discovery“. Many celebrities and athletes helped make the challenge go viral not only by pouring ice water over their heads to raise awareness of ALS, but by writing hefty checks as well. The ALS Association’s investment in the project wouldn’t have been possible without the Ice Bucket Challenge, the association said in a press release. More than 5,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year, and the disease is 100 percent fatal.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects the brain and spinal cord.
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The collaborative effort involved more than 80 researchers from 11 countries. Researchers have now identified a gene that contributes to the disease.
