Congratulations Ice Bucket Challenge!

$100 million donations have been made through the Ice Bucket Challenge, allowing researchers to discover a new gene linked to the condition.

17:07 28 July 2016

The Ice Bucket Challenge, which aimed to promote awareness about Amyoptrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), has been a huge success, raising over $100 million in donation. The campaign, which was a huge hit even with celebrities, has helped scientists to identify NEK1, a new gene associated with the condition. The findings were made through Project MinE, a study that assessed more than 15,000 people with ALS, providing scientists with potential target for the development of treatment.

 

Lead researcher Dr John Landers, from the University of Massachusetts, said: 'Global collaboration among scientists, which was really made possible by ALS Ice Bucket Challenge donations, led to this important discovery.  'It is a prime example of the success that can come from the combined efforts of so many people, all dedicated to finding the causes of ALS. 

 

'This kind of collaborative study is, more and more, where the field is headed.'

 

ALS is a motor neurone disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Affected individuals usually die within two to five years of diagnosis as they lose the ability to walk, eat and talk.