The pace of research can seem unreasonably slow; here are a few reasons why
posted on January 1, 2012 - 3:11pm
John Porter from the National Institutes of Health likes to start talks by noting, “It’s a great time to be a mouse with a neuromuscular disease.” Exciting research results are regularly reported, where a treatment appears to cure one neuromuscular disease or another in a mouse — yet there are few treatments available today for people with any of these diseases, and only a few treatments in human...
'Shambassadors' inspire Shamrock programs to be the best they can be
posted on January 1, 2012 - 2:45pm
In the weeks surrounding St. Patrick’s Day, all across the country, participating retailers sell green and gold clover-shaped MDA Shamrocks mobiles for $1 and $5.
The immensely popular Shamrocks fundraising program — which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year — has grown in income every single year, even during economic downturns, says Brian Hunter, MDA vice president of business development...
posted on January 1, 2012 - 2:42pm
In the 1990s, I adopted a shelter dog named Christmas, aka “Chrissy,” and attempted to train her to become my service dog. I wrote a Quest story about it in 2000 called Service Dog or Psycho Dog?
While she did perform well in some instances, Chrissy was a nightmare at other tasks. She was the right breed mix for the job but had the wrong personality.
Mainstream appliances are becoming more accessible every day
posted on January 1, 2012 - 2:40pm
You don’t have to do a total renovation of your kitchen to make your lifestyle more accessible. From storage solutions to preparing meals, minor changes can improve the functionality of a kitchen for someone with muscle weakness.
Kitchen designers and houseware manufacturers are incorporating universal design elements into their work. People who have disabilities have more choices than ever when...
posted on January 1, 2012 - 1:42pm
Stem cells have been much in the news lately, including for neuromuscular diseases.
One extremely promising approach has been to create stem cells from the adult (differentiated) cells of humans or animals, and then reprogram them back to a stemlike state, after which they can be redifferentiated into a desired cell type, such as muscle or nerve cells. Stem cells made from differentiated cells...
posted on January 1, 2012 - 12:55pm
The U.S. Power Soccer Team went head to head with the best in the world last fall and came away champions of the 2011 FIPFA World Cup. It’s the second win for Team USA, which previously won the 2007 Cup in Japan.
Returning as undefeated champions, expectations were high for the U.S. players.
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ABLE Act Would Help Families Plan for Child's Financial Future - 01/17/12
Immunosuppression Induces Tolerance to Enzyme Treatment in Pompe Disease - 01/16/12
MDA Funds Development of Utrophin 'Magnet' for DMD/BMD - 01/13/12
