Research

ALS is considered by many to be an "orphan" disease. This is due to the fact that the large pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies do not focus on it because it is relatively rare and therefore not profitable. However, there is promising new research currently underway in some of the world's most respected universities. Recent breakthroughs in the areas of Stem Cell Transplants and Gene Therapy have many believing that a cure or therapy is possible in the near future. Government and private monies must be allocated and raised to fund the research. The Steve Carlin Research and Assistance Fund supports ALS specific research initiatives that show the greatest promise of bringing viable therapies to patients in a timely manner. Two of the organizations the fund helps to support are The ALS Therapy Development Foundation and The Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University. Find out more about the research and the fine people at these organizations by going to our ALS Links page.

Assistance

The treatment and management of ALS can be very expensive. The need for drugs, durable medical equipment, and home health care assistance can have a devastating effect on the personal finances of the ALS patient and their families. There are however associations that assist ALS patients with some of these expenses. The Steve Carlin ALS Research and Assistance Fund gives to these associations who then help the patients through a variety of assistance programs. Two of these organizations are the Jim Catfish Hunter Chapter of the ALSA and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine ALS Center. Additionally, the fund gives to charitable organizations that assist specific neuromuscular disease patients in Southeastern North Carolina who have the greatest financial need. One of those organizations is Better Health of Cumberland County in Fayetteville, North Carolina.