Gehrig S Disease

I cannot take statin-type drugs. Is there a natural way to get triglycerides down? Triglycerides have just been shown to increase the risk of heart attacks (Journal of the American Medical Association, July 18). Fish oil is a natural way to lower this risk factor for heart disease. I have been fascinated with letters from people reporting that Lipitor weakened their muscles. I believe Lipitor triggered my ALS. Until last month, my doctors wouldn't listen to me, but then a report from the World Health Organization showed a link.

The person considered the strongest Raven by coach John Harbaugh received the game ball after Saturday's AFC divisional playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, even though he didn't take a snap or put on a uniform. In the victorious locker room at LP Field, Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed handed the ball to O.J. Brigance, the Ravens' director of player development, saying, "This is for you." Brigance expressed thanks from the motorized wheelchair that he uses as he battles Lou Gehrig's disease, then added, "but we've got two more to play."

Laurie Smullin Russell, a nurse and former hospital official whose extensive volunteer activities extended to fund raising for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after she was found to have the illness nearly four years ago, died Monday at her Glyndon home. She was 58. A fund-raiser professionally as assistant director of development at Union Memorial Hospital, Mrs. Russell volunteered her skills for other civic and cultural organizations. After she was found to have the illness known as Lou Gehrig's disease in August 2000, she became involved in the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The first time he fell, Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Averella was strolling on a military base in Afghanistan. He got up, collected himself and brushed aside the concerns of fellow soldiers. Within months, Averella was stumbling regularly, and his hands began inexplicably clenching into fists. At first, tests revealed nothing. Three years ago, the Maryland soldier found out what was afflicting him: Lou Gehrig's disease. Once an intense weightlifter, Averella is now bedridden at his Glen Burnie apartment, every part of him dying but his mind.

LINCOLN, R.I. -- The German television crew has left. Ted Koppel may call at any moment. And the nun is late.Noel David Earley can't remember the nun's name, or where she is from, but she sounded nice on the telephone. He still plans to kill himself -- the nun had no more success talking him out of it than had other callers -- but there was a sweetness about her. When she asked to visit, he agreed.So everyone's waiting -- a documentary film producer working for "Nightline"; a reporter and photographer from the Providence Journal-Bulletin; a reporter from The Sun.This has the promise of a good scene.

Peggy Lou Compton, a retired Social Security Administration employee and avid traveler, died Wednesday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis --Lou Gehrig's disease -- at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. She was 67. Born in Parkersburg, W.Va., the former Peggy Lou Barringer was raised in Akron, Ohio, where she graduated from high school in 1954. She married Gary Compton in 1959, and they moved to the Baltimore area in 1967. They lived in Ellicott City for 15 years. The marriage ended in divorce.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME(Paramount, 1991)"I wanted to try to reinvent the documentary genre," Errol Morris recently said. "The documentary for years has been seen as a kind of journalism but rarely as an art form."Mixing dramatic re-enactments and talking-head interviews, Mr. Morris created such a visually convincing argument about the innocence of a man convicted of murder in his widely acclaimed 1988 film, "The Thin Blue Line," and many credited him with the subsequent release of the prisoner.

Preparations are being made so President Clinton can attend Cal Ripken's potential record-breaking game Sept. 6 at Camden Yards, Orioles and White House sources said.In another Sept. 6 development, the Orioles are selling 260 on-field seats at $5,000 apiece so Ripken can present Johns Hopkins officials with a $1 million check to aid research of Lou Gehrig's disease, team sources said.Both events are still in the planning stages. Provided there are no rainouts, or injuries, Ripken will break Gehrig'sconsecutive-games record on Sept.

There's much more to Cal Ripken Jr. establishing baseball's new longevity streak than merely having his name placed ahead of Lou Gehrig in the cold-type pages of the record book. An immediate kinship has been formed that promises to be a continuing benefit to humanity, far exceeding the importance of the number of games either man played.It's a momentous philanthropic arrangement that already has resulted in Ripken, by his catalyst actions, providing $2 million to Johns Hopkins Hospital with the hope a cure can be advanced for eliminating the baffling disease that proved fatal to Gehrig more than a half-century ago.This becomes an enormous sports achievement and humane deed, all in one, that sets itself apart -- an athlete utilizing his own physical accomplishments to help those beset with the same illness that took Gehrig in 1941.

Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein, a leading neurologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has received a $100,000 award for his research into Lou Gehrig's disease. The prize was given yesterday by the University of Miami, which honored Rothstein for discovering key mechanisms of the disease and leading an effort to find a cure. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, destroys nerves of the brain and spinal cord and progressively robs people of their ability to move. The annual Lois Pope LIFE International Research Award honors scientists who have made significant medical breakthroughs in their field.

O.J. Brigance remembers the 2001 Super Bowl like it was yesterday, when he charged down the field for the Ravens and collided with a kick returner for the first tackle of the game. Now, everyday activities like eating are as challenging as his old workouts. Picking up a fork these days feels like lifting more than a hundred pounds of weights. Brigance, 38, was diagnosed in May 2007 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive and fatal disease that shuts down nerve cells responsible for movement.

I cannot take statin-type drugs. Is there a natural way to get triglycerides down? Triglycerides have just been shown to increase the risk of heart attacks (Journal of the American Medical Association, July 18). Fish oil is a natural way to lower this risk factor for heart disease. I have been fascinated with letters from people reporting that Lipitor weakened their muscles. I believe Lipitor triggered my ALS. Until last month, my doctors wouldn't listen to me, but then a report from the World Health Organization showed a link.

Ralph V. Mitzel, a retired Pennsylvania Railroad freight conductor and woodworker, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's disease - Wednesday at a daughter's home in Crestview, Fla. He was 88 and formerly a longtime Hampden resident. Mr. Mitzel was born in Baltimore into a family of railroaders and raised on Keswick Road in Hampden. His father had been president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and an older brother had been a Pennsy passenger conductor. Mr. Mitzel attended City College, and in 1933 was hired by the railroad.

A common antibiotic used to treat skin and lung infections may prolong the lives and ease the symptoms of patients with Lou Gehrig's disease and other neurological ailments, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. Scientists from the Hopkins medical school reported in the journal Nature this week that injections of ceftriaxone increased survival rates of mice genetically engineered with Lou Gehrig's disease, known scientifically as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The prescription drug also delayed the nerve damage and loss of muscle function that are common symptoms of ALS. Although results with laboratory animals are often difficult to duplicate in humans, the findings indicate that ceftriaxone contains some ingredient with the potential to treat not only ALS, but also other neurological disorders, including dementia and epilepsy, the researchers say. "What it means is, there's a whole class of drugs out there that we may be able to use in new ways," said Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein, lead author of the paper.

Ruxton Pharmaceuticals, a local bioscience start-up focusing chiefly on finding a treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease, has secured $5.2 million in a first round of private funding, including $1.7 million from venture capital giant New Enterprise Associates, Ruxton and NEA announced yesterday. At a time when the Baltimore region is working to build up its biotech sector, executives say yesterday's deal underscore's the area's bioscience strengths: Ruxton will be locally based and has licensed technology developed by a prominent Johns Hopkins researcher, while the Menlo Park, Calif.

Peggy Lou Compton, a retired Social Security Administration employee and avid traveler, died Wednesday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis --Lou Gehrig's disease -- at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. She was 67. Born in Parkersburg, W.Va., the former Peggy Lou Barringer was raised in Akron, Ohio, where she graduated from high school in 1954. She married Gary Compton in 1959, and they moved to the Baltimore area in 1967. They lived in Ellicott City for 15 years. The marriage ended in divorce.

WASHINGTON -- Statistics and probabilities can be puzzling, even paradoxical, as the man knew who wrote:Very, very, very fewPeople die at ninety-two.I suppose that I shall beSafer still at ninety-three.Another example: In the movie ''Fathers' Day,'' Billy Crystal wants Robin Williams to facilitate a deception by pretending to cry. Mr. Crystal suggests that Williams imagine that he is a tragic hero like Lou Gehrig. Mr. Williams asks, ''Who's that?''Mr. Crystal, dumbfounded, says, ''Everybody knows Lou Gehrig -- the baseball player, he died of Lou Gehrig's disease.

Tushar Kanti Ghosh, 96, a newspaper baron and crusader for independence from British colonialists, died of heart failure on Monday in New Delhi, India. He was often called the dean of Indian journalism and was in his 60th year as editor of the Amrita Bazar Patrika newspaper when he died. He founded three newspapers and a magazine that campaigned with Mohandas K. Gandhi against British rule in India. He wrote children's books and headed many journalism organizations, including the International Press Institute and the Commonwealth Press Union.

Elaine G. Weinstein, a homemaker and artist, died of Lou Gehrig's disease -- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- June 21 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Stevenson resident was 79. Born Elaine G. Cohen in Baltimore and raised on Forest Park Avenue, she was a 1943 graduate of Forest Park High School. After earning a degree in early childhood education from Goucher College in 1946, she taught at Arlington Elementary School on West Rogers Avenue from 1948 to 1950. In 1945, she married Dr. Frederick Weinstein, a now-retired Baltimore dentist.

Laurie Smullin Russell, a nurse and former hospital official whose extensive volunteer activities extended to fund raising for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after she was found to have the illness nearly four years ago, died Monday at her Glyndon home. She was 58. A fund-raiser professionally as assistant director of development at Union Memorial Hospital, Mrs. Russell volunteered her skills for other civic and cultural organizations. After she was found to have the illness known as Lou Gehrig's disease in August 2000, she became involved in the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine.