The Methodist Hospital Vicki Appel MDA/ALS Clinical Center and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) recently signed an agreement, resulting in additional grant money for the Clinic.  Dr. Stanley H. Appel, chairman of neurology at The Methodist Hospital Neurological Institute, directs the clinic, named in honor of his late wife.

The MDA grant, worth approximately $150,000, allows the MDA/ALS Clinical Center to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for patients with ALS.  In addition to this grant, Dr. Appel’s Research Center has also received more than $340,000 in MDA research grants, to be used over the next several years.

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) attend clinic on a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly basis to meet with a multidisciplinary team of specialists.

“Our clinic team provides a comprehensive program, from initial diagnosis to medical treatment of neuromuscular disease,” says Appel.  “The Center’s follow-up care ranges from management of symptoms to medical intervention designed to assist ALS patients in maintaining the highest quality of life.”

The MDA has 235 clinics throughout the United States.  Thirty-four of these locations, including the Center at The Methodist Hospital, are designated as research centers because of the amount and quality of ALS research taking place and the experience of the staff in dealing with this disorder.

“Professionals from around the world have visited the Vicki Appel MDA/ALS Center in preparation for setting up their own specialty clinics.  Dr. Appel’s world-renowned experience with ALS makes it only fitting that we continue this association with him and The Methodist Hospital,” says Bob Ross, President and CEO of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive disorder of the nervous system, which causes degeneration in both upper and lower motor neurons and results in muscle weakness.  Other symptoms include muscle twitching, loss of muscle bulk (atrophy), stiffness and cramping.  The philosophy of the MDA/ALS Clinical Center is that ALS is a treatable disease, even if it is not presently a curable disease.

Dr. Appel is one of the world's leaders in research on neuromuscular disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, with primary emphasis on ALS, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.  In addition to launching one of the first and largest multidisciplinary ALS clinics in the world, he also initiated the earliest clinical trials to use bone marrow stem cell transplantation as a treatment for ALS.
The Vicki Appel Clinical Center opened in 1981 and was one of the original five MDA/ALS specialty clinics in the country. 

For more information on the MDA/ALS Clinic, please call (713) 798-4073. For information on the Methodist Hospital System, please visit www.methodisthealth.com or call (713) 790-3333.