About MDA
MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education.
In 2008, MDA provided $160 million in research, family services and helpful information to adults and children with muscular dystrophy, dedicating 78.4 cents of every dollar it spends to services. MDA is the first nonprofit recognized by the American Medical Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award "for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity."
RESEARCH GRANTS
MDA annually funds 350 research teams worldwide, spending more than $43 million a year, pursuing treatments and cures for muscle-wasting diseases. MDA partners with federal government health researchers and biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies to develop and test potential treatments for neuromuscular diseases and is involved in clinical trials of potential drugs and genetic therapies.
The Association is the country's largest private-sector sponsor of muscular dystrophy research. In the last five years, MDA has provided more than $10.4 million in research funding in Massachusetts.
MDA investigators have placed the Association on the threshold of delivering treatments and cures for several muscle-wasting disorders, and they have pioneered breakthroughs that may lead to therapies for heart disease, cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's and cystic fibrosis.
SERVICES
MDA offers unparalleled medical and health services through its national network of 220 hospital-affiliated clinics and 36 MDA/ALS Centers. Services include diagnosis and follow-up care, summer camps, support groups, assistance with the purchase and repair of wheelchairs, leg braces and communication devices, and more.
In the last five years, MDA has provided more than $2.3 million in services to over 2,500 individuals living in Massachusetts.
SUMMER CAMPS
Some 4,300 children with muscular dystrophy annually enjoy a free camp adventure at MDA's more than 80 weeklong summer camp sessions. Each camper is accompanied by a volunteer counselor who provides the care, supervision and attention children with muscle-wasting diseases need.
CLINICS
Tens of thousands of visits are made each year to MDA's 220 hospital-affiliated clinics and 36 ALS Research & Clinical Care Centers for diagnostic and follow-up health services.
There are seven MDA clinic locations in Massachusetts, including Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the MDA/ALS Center at University MA medical Center in Worcester.
CLINIC RESEARCH NETWORK
MDA has set up, through a commitment of $1 million a year, 10 elite MDA medical clinics to speed and support research focused on ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Massachusetts has two of these centers, Massachusetts General in Boston focused on ALS and Boston Children's Hospital for DMD.
SUPPORT GROUPS
More than 300 MDA-facilitated support groups meet year-round, helping thousands of individuals and families. Massachusetts residents also can participate in informal "Phone Friends" networks and take advantage of MDA's online ecommunity "MyMDA" at www.mda.org/mymda.
LANDMARK INITIATIVES IN MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Biomedical Research Institute was selected as one of eight Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers. The establishment of these centers resulted from the passage of the MDA-backed MD-CARE Act in 2001. The first three, which are co-funded by NIH and MDA, are located at the University of Washington-Seattle, the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and the University of Pittsburgh. This center is conducting projects that explore basic biological mechanisms that relate to possible treatments for muscular dystrophies, encourage the translation of research from lab to clinic, and provide advanced diagnostic services.
For more information, please visit www.mda.org or www.als-mda.org.
