New Hope for Veterans with ALS
A new clinical research trial at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston is offering Veterans with ALS hope for the future.
As part of the research trial, ten Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis will get the opportunity to receive groundbreaking cell therapy targeted at reducing neuroinflammation as a treatment for the neurodegenerative disease.
“We are very excited to open this first cell therapy trial for ALS in the VA,” said Dr. James Orengo, principal investigator of the trial, which began this week. “We know that neuroinflammation fuels the ALS disease process. We believe that this new treatment, which involves calming the immune system in the central nervous system, holds great promise in halting this disease.”
ALS is a rare, rapidly progressing and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects Veterans twice as often as people who did not serve in the military, Orengo said. People with ALS experience muscle weakness, loss of movement, and difficulty breathing and swallowing, resulting in a severely declining quality of life and eventually death.
“Being a part of this multi-center study will help us give Veterans the opportunity to receive a cutting edge therapeutic that could be life changing,” Orengo added. “Participants will receive 9 intravenous infusions of the study drug over a six month period. The goal is to significantly slow the progression of the disease to allow Veterans to maintain their quality of life.”
Barbara W. Trautner, Deputy Associate Chief of Staff for Clinical Research at Houston VA, says the new clinical trial is exciting for staff and Veterans alike.
“I am thrilled that Houston VA’s investment in our clinical research infrastructure and commitment to research innovation has enabled us to open this potentially groundbreaking trial to help Veterans with ALS,” she said. “Our neurologists jumped at the chance to offer this to our Veterans. We are excited to be one of the first sites for their novel T regulatory cells therapy for ALS. We hope this is the first of many trials that we can open to develop new therapies for Veterans with neurodegenerative disorders.”
A new clinic for the treatment of Veterans with ALS opened at the Houston VA in 2022. The clinic offers a “one-stop-shop” for patients with the disease.
“Veterans with ALS often see multiple specialists and therapists, usually requiring them to go to different locations, both within and outside our medical center,” said Dr. Mark Kobelja, Chief of Staff. “Our new clinic allows patients to stay in one room and all the specialists to cycle through that room. It is so much more convenient and easy for our Veterans and improves the coordination of their care.”
ALS disease currently has no cure, but researchers nationwide, including locally at Houston VA and Baylor College of Medicine, are working hard to find a cure.
“Serving ALS Veterans is a great honor to me and the rest of the team,” said Orengo said. “We understand the tremendous adaptation the Veteran must face dealing with this disease and are dedicated to being there for them, to help guide them through the process and enhance their quality of life.”