Emergint to develop Lou Gehrig's disease patient registry for CDC
(ATLANTA, GA) - Emergint is proud to announce that they are developing the first national patient registry of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This patient registry is being developed for and will be administered by the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A registry is a database that includes information about people with specific exposures or diseases. As many as 30,000 Americans have ALS at any given time and every year over 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease.
Gary A. Leo, president and CEO of the ALS Association states "A nationwide registry will help us learn what causes ALS, how it can be effectively diagnosed and treated, and ultimately how it can be cured. This is a tremendous victory."1
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and it is ultimately fatal. This disease can strike anyone at any age; however, it usually attacks people between the ages of 40 and 70 years old. There is currently no treatment, no cure and the life expectancy of a person diagnosed with ALS is 2 to 5 years. In 1939, Lou Gehrig brought national attention to the disease after being diagnosed with ALS, and in 1941 this disease took his life.
In addition to disease registry functionality, this national registry will provide a portal that can be used by ALS Patients, their families and friends, and general public and healthcare professionals to find more information about this neurodegenerative disease and the latest treatment advances. This web site is expected be available to the public around the middle of 2009.
The NCEH "plans, directs, and coordinates a national program to maintain and improve the health of the American people by promoting a healthy environment and by preventing premature death and avoidable illness and disability caused by non-infectious, non-occupational environmental and related factors."2
ATSDR, "based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances."3
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Contacts:
Ms. Theodora Giagtzis
Director of Business Development
(866) 681-0149 ext. 6105
theodora.giagtzis@emergint.com