In light of the December 2019 announcement of the positive ALS Centaur study on AMX0035, ALS experts at a trial site (Michigan Medicine) are available to discuss the significance and the urgent need to find new therapies for patients with ALS.
Contact Haley Otman to get in touch with Eva Feldman and/or Stephen Goutman, ALS experts at Michigan Medicine (the academic medical center of the University of Michigan).
“Findings from this clinical trial emphasize how important basic and clinical research studies are to the ALS community. Here at Michigan Medicine, our own research focuses on understanding what underlies the onset and progression of ALS, keeping in mind that Michigan and Ohio have the highest prevalence of ALS in the United States.” - Eva L. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.
“ALS is a disease in desperate need of new therapies. Thus, we are extremely excited to learn that AMX0035 demonstrated a slowing of ALS disease progression over the 24 weeks of the study. We eagerly await additional data to know how well the drug worked and what the plans are for making this drug available to persons with ALS. We remain grateful to all the individuals with ALS that participate in our research so we can find new and better treatments for ALS.” - Stephen Goutman, M.D., M.S.
More information on Feldman:
Eva L. Feldman, M.D, Ph.D., is the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology; Director of the ALS Clinic; Director of the JDRF Center for the Study of Complications in Diabetes; Director of the Program for Neurology Research and Discovery and former (2007-2017) Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.
Feldman completed both her medical degree and Ph.D. degree (Neuroscience) at the University of Michigan. She completed a residency in neurology at Johns Hopkins University, and a neuromuscular fellowship at the University of Michigan.
In addition to running an active clinical practice at the University of Michigan, Dr. Feldman directs a team of 30 scientists who collaborate to understand and find new treatments for a wide variety of neurological diseases, including ALS, diabetic neuropathy, Alzheimer's disease and muscular dystrophies. She is the author of more than 220 articles, 50 book chapters and 2 books.
She is the Principal Investigator of 4 major National Institutes of Health research grants, 3 private foundation grants and 5 clinical trials focused on understanding and treating neurological disorders, with an emphasis on ALS and diabetic neuropathy. She developed a clinical screening instrument for the rapid diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy, which is currently being used worldwide.
Feldman is also on the forefront of applying stem cell research to human disease. In September 2010, she received approval from the F.D.A. for the first human clinical trial of a stem cell treatment for ALS. She has served as president of the American Neurological Association and president of the Peripheral Nerve Society. She has received many honors including the Early Distinguished Career Award from the University of Michigan, several scientific achievement awards in the field of diabetes and was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. Additionally, she has been listed in Best Doctors in America for 10 consecutive years.
Among Dr. Feldman's greatest accomplishments is her training of both scientists and neurologists. Eight scientists have received their Ph.D. degrees under her, she has trained 40 postdoctoral fellows in her laboratory to become neuroscientists, and 36 neurologists have trained under her to specialize in the understanding and treatment of neuromuscular diseases, with an emphasis on ALS.
More information on Goutman:
Stephen Goutman, M.D., M.S., is an associate professor of neurology and director of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinic and ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine.
After obtaining a degree in neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore), Goutman completed his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and his neurology residency and neuromuscular fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. He received a master’s in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis at the University of Michigan.
Goutman evaluates and treats patients with neuromuscular diseases and is interested in diseases such as myasthenia gravis and muscle diseases. His area of expertise is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig’s Disease where his focus is delivering comprehensive and compassionate care. He is director of the ALS Clinic, an ALS Association Certified Center of Excellence (http://www.umich-als.org/), where he leads a team of providers that care for persons with ALS and their families. Dr. Goutman is inspired by his patients and thus aims to provide the highest level of care.
Goutman’s research is focused on identifying causes of and treatments for ALS. He leads research efforts that received funding by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control aimed at identifying environmental risk factors and causes of ALS (https://umhealthresearch.org/#studies/HUM00028826) and showed, in an article that received widespread attention, a connection between ALS and organochlorine pesticides (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2519875). Goutman also helps direct the University of Michigan ALS Biorepository which provides essential resources to ALS researchers within and external to the University of Michigan enabling studies into areas of ALS genetics, epigenetics, and immunology.
Goutman is a site principal investigator of several multisite clinical trials focused on identifying new ALS treatments and causes and is an active participant with the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS) to improve care for ALS. He received a 2016 Young Investigator Award by the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases.
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