IT'S GETTING EXCITING

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

We just confirmed that Dr. Brown, from Mass General Hospital, will be

a speaker at our national " Research and Beyond Conference " on September 13 in

Massachusetts.  He is a leading expert on neurodegenerative disorders.   He

heads the hospital's lab for Neuromuscular Research, which has found two

genes

that cause familial ALS, leading to mouse models of the disease.  HSP, PLS

and

ALS are three of the disorders along the motor neuron disease continuum.

Reseachers say common threads link these and many other neurodegenerative

conditions that together, affect millions of Americans.

His presentation, called " Spastic Paraparesis: Research and Beyond " will

cover cutting edge research, treatment of our disorders, and a Q/A answer

period.

It is an honor to have him as one of our presenters.

We are still waiting to hear from Dr. Fink regarding a special breakout

session on HSP Genetics.  As you know, he is a leading expert on our

disorders

(and the Medical Advisor for the SPF).   He is at the U of Michigan, so his

schedule is always frantic for travel.  I know if he can make it, he'll be

with

us.  His lab is dedicated to PLS and HSP.  He discovered the atlastin

(childhood onset HSP) gene.  He has mouse models underway for atlastin and

for

spastin (the most common dominant HSP) and continues to conduct gene

discovery

research and other research to unlock the riddle to neurodegenerative

conditions.

We also have other great plans for the Conference.  We will have a

presentation by a terrific PT and some breakout sessions on special topics

including the

Baclofen Pump, Speech Augmentative Devices and Spouses/significant others.

LOL, we are even throwing in a breakout with a historian on the topic of the

Revolutionary War (since that's the setting for TeamWalk - we'll be right at

the

place where the shot was heard round the world).

The Conference is on Saturday, September 13 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in

Burlington, MA.  The next day is our TEAMWALK for the Cure in Lexington, MA.

We'll kick off with a ceremony by the Minuteman Company and then walk by

several

Revolutionary War sites including the Minuteman Headquarters.  We have an

arrival dinner on Friday and we'll have a dinner outing after the Conference

on

Saturday in historic Concord.

We have a TeamWalk Weekend website and will continue to update it as all the

planning for this weekend evolves.

September is high tourist season in MA, due to our glorious fall foliage

season.  Please make your travel plans early.  already said she had

some

run-around to get tickets to come in from TX.  Also, it is important to book

your hotel room if you are staying over night.  We have limited rooms set

aside

at a fabulous price of $89.

All the info (so far) here:  http://sp-foundation.org/tst-new/walk.htm

Hope ya'll will come,

Kathi