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September 17; Woburn, Massachusetts
The Spastic Paraplegia Foundation (SPF) announces that it has
awarded $403,935 in research grants to four researchers. The
SPF’s
Scientific Advisory Board rated their proposals as
outstanding opportunities to advance research and help find
the cures for Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) &
Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP).
The grant recipients, and the titles of their proposals, are
as follows:
Paola Arlotta, Ph.D., Harvard University, Massachusetts
General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine, “Directed
Differentiation of Neural Progenitors and iPS Cells into
Corticospinal Motor Neurons”
$60,000 for 1 year
Janine Kirby PhD, University of Sheffield, School of
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, “Elucidation of upper motor
neuron vulnerability in Primary Lateral Sclerosis”
$55,908 for 1st year, $47,467 for 2nd year; total $103,375
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Yasushi Kisanuki, M.D., Department of Neurology,
University of Michigan, “Paraplegia in HSP Rat: Analysis and
treatment”
$60,000 for 2 years; total $120,000
Jeffrey D. Macklis, M.D., D.HST, Director,
Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard Medical School,
Center for Nervous System Repair, “Molecular-Genetic
Controls over the Development, Connections, and Survival of
Upper
Motor Neurons”
$60,280 for 2 years; total $120,560
HSP and PLS are closely related disorders caused by the
degeneration of "upper motor neurons".
Some 24,000 people across the U.S. and Canada are estimated to be
affected by HSP. PLS is thought to affect 1-2 thousand
individuals, although it is difficult to estimate since it can
be difficult to differentiate from HSP and ALS in its early
stages. Both
disorders cause progressive spasticity and weakness in the legs,
causing patients to use canes, crutches or eventually
wheelchairs. PLS also affects the arms and hands and generally causes
speech difficulties. Very rare forms of HSP can
cause mental retardation, deafness, diseases of the retina,
dementia, ataxia (lack of muscle control), and epilepsy.
The SPF is a national, volunteer-driven,
non-profit organization dedicated to finding the cures for upper motor neuron
disorders and providing information and support services to
people affected by them.
For more information, please contact SPF at
information@sp-foundation.org or
visit the website at
http://www.sp-foundation.org.
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