ALS breakthroughs thanks to Ice Bucket Challenge

In total, a whopping 0 million was raised from the challenge.

Screenshot of Bill Gates accepting the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

“Even though the Ice Bucket Challenge raised a lot of money past year, there is still so much to do”, Team Gleason executive director Paul Varisco said in a statement.

The Ice Bucket Challenge, an online push to raise awareness and funding, encouraged Facebook users to film themselves pouring a bucket of ice water over their heads, then share the video in their feeds and urge others to take the challenge and/or make a donation to support ALS research.

As the second wave of the viral Ice Bucket Challenge sweeps the internet, researchers say they’ve found a way to help those already suffering from ALS.

“The more programs we get funded for research the better chance we have of seeing a cure”, Spence said.

Scientists have known about the protein for about a decade, but never quite understood its role, he continued. And now we’re seeing how it helped.

ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that weakens muscles, causing difficulty in speaking, walking, swallowing, and breathing. In the latest findings, the John Hopkins team discovered that a specialized protein designed to mimic TDP-43 could be inserted into dying neurons, causing the cells to reverse their decay and come back to life functioning normally.

“We hope this will be the first of many research discoveries fueled by people’s participation in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”, said Barb Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association.

Ephrata resident David Ihde, who died of ALS last August, would have been thrilled to hear that, his daughter Allison Irwin said Friday. The more funding we can get the more research will be done//i mean this is a very tough disease.

Merced groups and businesses took part in the challenge, putting on events that raised up to $5,000 in some occasions.

The Indiana Chapter of the ALS Association will host it’s annual Walk to Defeat ALS on September 26, 2015 at White River State Park. Supporters say it will continue every August until there is a cure.