Boy with juvenile dermatomyositis scores a touchdown

For more than 60 years, firefighters have teamed with MDA to fight back against muscular dystrophy, ALS and related life-threatening diseases.

For one firefighter, the cause became very personal when his son, Chandler Mallen, was diagnosed with juvenile dermatomyositis, a neuromuscular disease that involves inflammation of the muscles. When Chandler asked his father — Scott, a firefighter who has collected donations for MDA’s Fill the Boot program for almost 25 years — if he’d lose the use of his legs, he didn’t wait for an answer.

“Even if I do,” Chandler said, “I’ll never stop trying.”

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Meet Cadence: MDA’s Montana State Goodwill Ambassador

Meet Cadence Hometown: Havre, Montana Age: 9 Diagnosis: I have an unspecified myopathy. Myopathies are diseases that cause problems with the tone and contraction of skeletal muscles. Favorite School Subject/Activities: Art, Reading, Rocket Math and Science are my favorite things about school. Favorite People and/or Pets: I love dolphins, including the Miami Dolphins. Although my #1 animal is . . .

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Recent Treatment Triumphs Tied to MDA’s Long Commitment to Funding Treatments and Cures

Over the last six decades, MDA has committed $1 billion to research designed to move the world closer to treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS and related life-threatening diseases. As a result, MDA’s fingerprints are on nearly every major neuromuscular disease research breakthrough, and the progress we continue to see in the field is . . .

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Fire Fighters Across the Country will be Filling the Boot for MDA this Labor Day Weekend

This weekend, as you head out to BBQs and the beach, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter fire fighters collecting for MDA at intersections, shopping malls and town centers in your community. That’s because members of more than 700 local fire departments across the country, led by the International Association of Fire Fighters, are set . . .

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NDA Filing for ALS Treatment Accepted by FDA

Osaka-based Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma announced today that its New Drug Application (NDA) for the drug edaravone to treat people with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) was accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Japanese pharmaceutical company said it expects a decision on whether it can market the drug in the United States by June 16, 2017. . . .

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Runway of Dreams Goes Back to School with Tommy Hilfiger

On Wednesday, Runway of Dreams once again announced it is collaborating with the iconic fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger to launch an adaptive version of the fall children’s clothing line.  Following the success of the Tommy Hilfiger Spring collection (which nearly sold out within the first week), the fall collection features a baseball jacket with concealed MagnaReady® magnets to maintain . . .

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Some said a diploma wasn’t in her future. Latondra Chappell said “Watch me!”

Latondra Chappell is like most teenagers. She drives, goes to prom and is attending college. However, at the age of 11, Latondra was diagnosed with congenital muscular dystrophy, which caused her muscles to break down and lose strength, putting her in a wheelchair. At her local MDA Care Center, Latondra’s doctor pushed her to live . . .

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