MS Activists Tour the White House Holiday Decorations

By invitation of the White House, the Society's Public Policy Office accompanied four MS Activists to the White House to view the holiday decorations in the East Wing. Attendees included: Doris Matchett and her dog Linus, Yvonne Brown, Karen Jackson, Dana McLeod, and Shawn O'Neail. In addition to seeing historical decorations from the days of President Lincoln and getting a chance to visit the State Dining Room, the MS crew enjoyed holiday tunes from Seaford, DE elementary school children.

In the News: $4.5 Million for Continued MS Research Funding in the CDMRP

As a neurologist and Director of the Spinal Cord Injury/Dysfunction Service and the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the St. Louis Veterans Administration Hospital and longtime volunteer with the Gateway Area Chapter of the National MS Society, I am intimately familiar with the realities of living with multiple sclerosis. That is why I am very pleased to announce that $4.5 million has been appropriated for continued MS research through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. The research being conducted by this program is funded through the Department of Defense and will serve to benefit the 28,000 veterans living with MS, as well as every other life touched by the disease.

This is an excerpt from a December 31, 2009 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Read the full Letter to the Editor.

In the News: NIH Approves New Stem Cell Lines for Research

Launching a dramatic expansion of government support for one of the most promising but most contentious fields of biomedical research, the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday [last week] authorized the first 13 lines of cells under the administration's policy and was poised to approve 20 more Friday...

The NIH has already authorized 31 grants worth about $21 million for research on human embryonic stem cells, money that was contingent on new lines passing government muster. The grants are for a variety of research, including work aimed at developing cells that could be used to treat diseases of the heart and nervous system.

This is an excerpt from a December 3 story in the Washington Post. Read the full story here.

Give Thanks for MS Research Funding

For the past several years, the National Institutes of Health investment in MS-related research has been declining. You've contacted your legislators many times to ask for increased multiple sclerosis research funding through the NIH.

Now you can say thank you.

Finally, the research community is being reinvigorated through significant money allocated to the NIH from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Send a quick email to the White House. Thank President Obama for his commitment to science and research. Urge him to continue to make research a priority for FY 2011. It is important for the NIH and for multiple sclerosis research to make this funding permanent. The President will determine what funding to recommend for the NIH before the end of this year. Send your message today.

Chat with White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett

You are invited to an online chat with White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett to discuss how health insurance reform will impact minority communities and all Americans.

3:30 p.m. EST, Monday, November 2

Click here to submit your questions today.

Join on Monday at WhiteHouse.gov or at Facebook.com/WhiteHouse.