MDA OPENS CENTER FOR
LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE TREATMENT, RESEARCH
TUCSON, Ariz., June 2004 – The University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences College of Medicine in Little Rock has been designated as the
site of a new MDA/ALS center. The center is the 31st facility to receive
the designation from the Muscular Dystrophy
Association’s ALS Division.
MDA established the comprehensive, multidisciplinary facility to conduct
research and provide clinical services for people with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis,a fatal muscle-wasting disease prominent in MDA’s
program.
In ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, destruction of nerve
cells that control voluntary muscles leads to severe muscle wasting
and paralysis. Death typically results within three to five years of
diagnosis, usually from respiratory complications. Approximately 30,000
Americans are affected by ALS.
The cause of ALS isn't fully understood, and no cure exists.
The new MDA/ALS center, to be directed by Stacy Rudnicki, is located
in the College of Medicine at 4301 W. Markham, Slot 500. Those wishing
to obtain more information or to schedule an appointment at the center
should call MDA’s office in Little Rock at (501) 375-5455.
An associate professor of neurology, Rudnicki is also the director of
MDA’s outpatient clinic at the university, which serves people
with any of the more than 40 neuromuscular diseases in MDA’s program.
The new ALS center provides patients with a full array of care from
physicians; physical, occupational and speech therapists; and other
health care professionals.
The team also conducts ongoing ALS research.
“We’re delighted to add the Little Rock facility to our
roster of MDA/ALS centers,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross
said. “Under the direction of Dr. Rudnicki, the center will provide
the best, most comprehensive care available for people with ALS, while
helping advance our search for better treatments and a cure.”
The Little Rock facility is the first MDA/ALS center in Arkansas. Other
centers are located at major institutions in Albuquerque, N.M.; Atlanta,
Baltimore, Boston; Charlotte and Durham, N.C.; Chicago, Dallas, Denver,
Houston, Kansas City, Kan.; Madison, Wis.; Miami, Philadelphia, St.
Louis, Salt Lake City; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; New Haven, Conn.;
New York City (two centers), Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y.
One of MDA’s earliest volunteer leaders was Eleanor Gehrig, the
widow of New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, whose name has become
synonymous with ALS. Today, with more than $155 million invested in
the fight against ALS, MDA leads the worldwide scientific battle against
the disease.
For more information about MDA’s ALS Division, go to www.als-mda.org.
