St. Louis Regional Chapter Where Patients Matter Most About ALS About Our Chapter Patient & Family Services Public Policy Events Publications Government Resources How You Can Help For Health Care Professionals ALS Store Chapter Wish List	Important Information About New VA Policy for ALS Click here to read more... New Support Group Starting in Central Illinois The Patient Services Department is introducing an ALS Grief Support Group in Springfield, IL.  Click here for more details. Sign your Walk Team up today! The 2008 Rolla and Springfield Walks are just around the corner.  Click here to sign your team up online today.     ALS Awareness Month Local families represent the St. Louis Regional Chapter in ALS Across America.                                        Click here to read Nancy Adkins's story.   Click here to read Jessica Gump's story.                                 We Need Your Help!  We are in need of volunteers to serve on our Peoria, St. Louis, and Springfield Walk to Defeat ALS committees.  Not interested in helping out with the Walk?  That is OK.  We also need volunteers to serve on the Annual Golf Tournament & Auction committee and the 25th Anniversary Gala committee.  Click here for more information. The ALS  The
	Upcoming Events Rolla Walk to Defeat ALS Saturday, October 4, 2008  Rolla, MO - Ber Juan Park Claude H. Gregory Walk Saturday, October 11, 2008  Belleville, IL Springfield Walk to Defeat ALS Saturday, October 18, 2008  Springfield, IL - Washington Park November is National Caregiver Month Phillip-A-Looza Saturday, November 22, 2008  St. Louis, MO - Lucas School House Chapter Holiday & Awards Dinner Sunday, December 7, 2008  St. Louis, MO       Historic Week in Congress For The ALS Association $5 Million ALS Research Bill Signed By President The ALS Association achieved another victory in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2  when President Bush signed into law the 2009 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Bill. For the first time, Congress included $5 million in the bill to fund the ALS Research Program (ALSRP) at DOD. The congressionally established program at the DOD is dedicated solely to ALS research, is the only ALS specific program at the DOD and is the only program focused on translational research with the goal of finding new treatments for ALS. > Read full story ALS Registry Act Signed by President President Bush signed the ALS Registry Act into law on October 8, which marks a major milestone in the fight against Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  The House of Representatives passed the ALS Registry Act (S. 1382) on September 26 following action by the U.S. Senate on September 23. The ALS Registry Act establishes the first ever national patient registry of people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, to be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The registry will collect information leading to the cause, treatment and cure of the deadly neurological disease that took the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig in 1941. > Read full story