Today, we unanimously passed legislation to provide $20 million in grants for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research and $5 million for ALS caregiving. The disease is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the Hall of Fame baseball player died of ALS. The effort began after Senator David Tomassoni was diagnosed with ALS last year. 

I proudly stand with my friend and colleague Senator Tomassoni to support this legislation. This bill continues our fight to tackle ALS through research and provides resources for care. We need to see the people suffering from terrible diseases like this and put a face to it. We can develop solutions that improve quality of life, and with continued focus and innovation, we will ultimately see a generation that overcomes this disease.  

The bill gives $20 million to the Office of Higher Education to award competitive grants to conduct research into the prevention, treatment, causes, and cures of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It also includes $5 million for ALS caregivers.
 

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and there is no known cure. It ultimately robs people of their ability to walk, talk, and eventually breathe. At any given time roughly 450 Minnesotans are living with the disease with the average lifespan of someone diagnosed being two to five years. 

There are six clinics in Minnesota that are currently working on ALS research: Essentia Health (Duluth), HealthPartners (St. Paul), Hennepin Healthcare (Minneapolis), Mayo Clinic (Rochester), the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), and the VA Medical Center (Minneapolis).