New Research Grants Awarded for 2009


 Thanks to the generous donations of our members and the hard work of volunteers hosting fundraisers across the country, ASAP is proud to announce we have awarded new research grants. 

Researchers in Aurora, Colorado will be investigating brain fog in Chiari patients with or without syringomyelia. They will attempt to answer two basic questions: Do cognitive (thinking) problems in patients with Chiari I malformation result directly from the malformation or from another cause?  Do cognitive problems improve after surgery?    A neuropsychologist will be testing patients before and after surgery and comparing results.

Kerri Thorn, PA-C, of Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC is our second grant recipient. The title of this research is Investigation of the disease progression of pediatric patients with incidental Chiari I malformation.  What happens when a patient being evaluated for another reason is found to have a Chiari malformation?  Often called “incidental Chiari I malformation,” not much is known about how care should be managed. What percentage of patients will require surgery?  Is there a way to predict which ones will need a surgical procedure? And should these patients have regular MRI imaging?  This study will investigate those questions. 

In addition, the ASAP Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the Marcy Speer Research Memorial Fund will be used to fund Finding novel genetic contribution to Chiari Syndrome with or without syringomyelia  at Duke University. Dr. Allison Ashley-Koch is continuing the research initiated by Dr. Speer. The goal of research is to identify the genomic expressions that differ in CMI patients, hopefully leading to new diagnostic tools and additional guidance for treating patients.


If you would like to help continue this work, make a donation online and designate it to the Marcy Speer Research Memorial Fund. Read more here.

 



June 2009