Ice Bucket Challenge Leads to ALS Research Breakthrough
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DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - We all remember the ice bucket challenge from 2014. Videos were posted to every social media site as people drenched themselves in ice water to raise awareness about ALS. Even celebrities got in on it.
Turns out, those videos actually worked!
The challenge raised over $115 million nationwide for the ALS Association, and $77 million of that went directly toward promising research. That led to the discovery of a new gene for ALS, called NEK1. It's been identified as the most common gene leading toward the progression of the disease.
"I'm overjoyed," says Tanner Hockensmith, executive director for the ALS Association Texas chapter. "I've lost friends to this disease, and to see a breakthrough like this is definitely a step in the right direction."
The research project was called Project MinE, and was made up of 80 scientists from across the globe.
"This is the first large worldwide collaboration on ALS research we've had," says Hockensmith.
And Texans did their part too.
"We received about $800,000 in additional donations from folks across Texas," says Hockensmith. "That's given us the ability to open new local clinics, provide new levels of care, and invest into nationwide research too."
Now that the NEK1 gene has been identified, scientists can work on developing a gene therapy to treat it.
"It's the beginning of something great," says Hockensmith. "But we've got a ways to go still."
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