ALS-related gene found with help from Ice Bucket Challenge

 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL --8/22/14-- Little Rock  Finance Director Sara Lenehan (left) and Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore get a bucket of ice water over their heads Friday at City Hall as they take the ALS ice bucket challenge with other department heads from the city. In addition to a $500 donation from the city, city employees raised $160 by making donations to enter a drawing for the chance to dump the ice water on their bosses. The money went to the Arkansas Chapter of the ALS Association.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL --8/22/14-- Little Rock Finance Director Sara Lenehan (left) and Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore get a bucket of ice water over their heads Friday at City Hall as they take the ALS ice bucket challenge with other department heads from the city. In addition to a $500 donation from the city, city employees raised $160 by making donations to enter a drawing for the chance to dump the ice water on their bosses. The money went to the Arkansas Chapter of the ALS Association.

WASHINGTON — The ALS Association is crediting money raised through the Ice Bucket Challenge for the discovery of a gene's connection to the progressive disease.

Those who accepted the challenge allowed buckets of ice water to be dumped on their heads to raise awareness and money for ALS.

The challenge became a viral sensation in 2014 and raised $115 million for the association. Figures from the ALS Association show $1 million of that helped fund a global effort to help find genetic drivers of the condition called Project MinE.

The ALS Association said a paper published this week in the journal Nature Genetics reveals Project MinE researchers have identified the NEK1 gene's connection to ALS. It said understanding the gene's role will help in developing new target therapy for ALS.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Upcoming Events