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In 2014, the'Ice Bucket Challenge', which was popular around the world, has returned as a medical achievement for patients with Lou Gehrig's disease.



On the 4th, local time, NBC and other foreign media reported that researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States succeeded in developing a new drug that dramatically slows the progression of Lou Gehrig's disease with the research fund prepared by the Ice Bucket Challenge.



The Ice Bucket Challenge is a donation campaign launched in the U.S. in 2014 to arouse interest and raise donations for patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS).

For a very short time, after wearing ice water in order to count the suffering of ALS patients, they uploaded a video of the scene on social media and pointed out three people, saying, "Within 24 hours, you can use ice water or $100 (about 120,000). Won) to the ALS charity.”




At that time, as the Ice Bucket Challenge became popular on social media at the time, world-renowned celebrities such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former US President Bush participated and donated.

As a result, a global fund of $220 million and about 260 billion won in our money has been raised. Could be right.



As a result of conducting an experiment with more than 140 patients, the researchers found that patients who took the new drug developed this time slowed the progression of the disease by about 25% after 6 months compared to those who did not.

Dr. Paganoni explains this as "a big difference between whether you can walk on your own or rely on an instrument."



"All the patients with Lou Gehrig's disease whom I have spoken with have hoped that they will be able to maintain their muscle function as long as possible." It has meaning.”




The researchers attributed the achievements to the Ice Bucket Challenge, saying, "Not only have they guided the research, but have also greatly increased their interest in ALS. There are many professors who have joined our research team through this campaign."



The American Lou Gehrig's Disease Association said, "It is rare to see such an effect in the research phase."

The association plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to allow patients to use the new drug in advance.



This is'News Pick'.