The Cycle (and Walk!) 4 CMT event at the Old Lantern in Charlotte, VT on Sunday, August 26 will be upon us before you know it! Please act now to reserve your spot to cycle, walk and/or attend the unforgettable after-party!
Whether you are attending the event in person or participating virtually, here are your top 4 action items for you to complete right now:
The Cycle (and Walk or Roll!) 4 CMT event is so much more than a bike ride or walk around Charlotte, VT. It is a way to give hope to families and their children all around the world for a medicinal treatment to stop the progression of CMT.
I asked our friend Riley Ashe from Vermont, who never misses the event, to talk about what this event means to him. Here is what he said (get Kleenex out before pressing play):
My brother George’s heartfelt thoughts (grab yet another kleenex):
After-Party
Event After-Party
Rumor has it that we throw the best after-party of any non-profit event for miles around! Riders, walkers and party attendees are going to have a blast again this year.
After the morning activities, plan to relax in the beautiful setting at the Old Lantern in Charlotte, VT.
Quench your thirst with VT brewed beer, enjoy delicious food, including appetizers and a fully catered menu and bid on epic silent auction items provided by our supporters.
Rock out to the lively tunes of our favorite band, Leno, Cheney and Young, mingle with family, friends and hear about exciting CMT research updates from our internationally acclaimed CMT experts, Drs. Michael Shy and Steven Scherer.
CMT Experts – Drs. Scherer and ShyYohan and his Grandmother, BevThe Love of an uncle for his nephew. Family is everything.
Our Fabulous BandWalk 4 CMT!!
If you cannot make it this year – you can still participate by doing a VIRTUAL CYCLE or WALK or ROLL. It’s easy! Register: http://www.cycle4cmt.com. Here is some of the cool swag you’ll receive after you’ve reached your fundraising goal.
If you do a virtual event, send me pictures of your adventure! I need to brag about you! xoxo
Help us break the silence…get the word out about CMT!
“My high school years?” she shuddered. “After the doctors diagnosed me with polio at 13-years-old, they wanted to straighten my misshapen feet. So, for the next 5 summers in a row, my school vacations were spent either in the hospital or at home, immobilized, with heavy plaster casts weighing me down.” With raspy, uneven breath, Flora described those dreadful Mississippi summers as muggy, sticky and hot – really hot. “Neither the hospital nor my home had air conditioning in those days, so I was pretty uncomfortable – but I got through!” she added with her usual determination.
I first spoke with Flora in 2003, when I was getting to know the CMTA group leaders throughout the country. She told me that after her orthopedic surgeon “straightened her out”, she had left her polio diagnosis behind and moved forward with her life. She went to college, married her husband of 52 years – Billy Joe Jones in 1960 and had three children. After the birth of her youngest child, Cindy, she decided to stay at home to be a mother, wife, and homemaker.
Flora and her husband, Billy
Over the years, her legs weakened and her hands slowly lost function. In 1982, at the age of 45, she was finally diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease or CMT at an MDA clinic. Okay. There was a name for her progressive symptoms, but she wondered what she was supposed to do with the name. She couldn’t just “Google It” because home computers had not made their debut in society.
Luckily, by word of mouth, she heard about a CMT conference in Toronto, hosted by CMT International. No way was she going to miss this opportunity to learn and gather more information about CMT. Upon arrival, she was stunned to meet others with similarly-looking feet and hands – 200 other individuals with “the walk” including 30 people who admitted to breathing difficulties, like herself. One of her favorite parts of the conference was educating CMT clinicians about her own CMT.
In 1993, she was elated to discover a CMTA support group in her area. With her passion for spreading awareness and teaching others about CMT, it was not long before Flora stepped up as the leader of the Brandon, Mississippi CMTA support group. In fact, she involved the entire family in her mission and many weekends were devoted to mailing educational information, calling new members and organizing CMTA meetings.
Flora and Jeana Sweeney at the CMTA Support Group
Due to severely atrophied leg muscles, she lost her ability to walk at the age of 58, but that did not make one bit of difference. She continued to lead her group enthusiastically, informing the members about the CMTA, its research, and resources. Over the course of her lifetime, she touched innumerable lives, informed countless medical professionals and supported others who had a CMT diagnosis.
Toward the end of her life, she could barely use her hands, and her violent tremors made holding or sipping from a cup virtually impossible. Her paralyzed diaphragm made breathing harder and harder with each passing day and her weakened vocal cords affected her ability to talk. Yet, Flora did not let any of those worsening symptoms stop her from fulfilling her mission in a positive, cheerful and comforting way.
I just spoke to Flora a few months ago. She called to check in, to see how Yohan was doing after his foot surgeries. She told me he was always in her prayers. She admitted that her CMT was wreaking havoc on her body, but it would never, ever dampen her inner spirit. Even in her final months, she would not leave home without her brochures. She wanted to be ready to educate everyone and anyone who would listen to her about CMT. In a recent letter from Flora’s daughter, Cindy, she confided, “Even up to her last doctor’s appointment, she educated her doctors about CMT.” In February, Flora was given a new doctor, “a cute one!” she said with a wink. Super impressed that he really was interested in CMT, he even explained how he could help her live a productive life despite her limitations.
Flora and her daughter, Cindy
Following in Flora’s footsteps, I try to spread CMT awareness wherever I go, even if Yohan rolls his eyes out of his head like he’s screaming loudly. If we all speak about this progressive disease to our doctors, nurses, family, and friends think how many people would recognize the name, the symptoms, and the signs. “It’s CMT.” I say. “Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.” And when the person looks puzzled, which they usually do, I remind them of the acronym – CMT. To make it stick, I joke that CMT does NOT stand for Country Music Television. And I might add, “ It’s the other CMT-the one that destroys nerves, causes muscles to weaken, and disables the young and old. It’s Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and we desperately need a cure.” And a cure starts with awareness.
In memory of my friend Flora, who passed on April 1, 2018, at the age of 81 from CMT-related breathing complications, please help raise awareness of CMT. Think about it – even the most worthy causes won’t receive a dollar in donations if no one knows about them. Putting a face and a personal story on CMT may spur people into action, especially if they know their support will lead to a cure.
Flora, you are my inspiration to wake up every day and fight for a world without CMT. And now, I imagine you moving freely among the stars and dancing with angels. And I smile. I may not have told you during our phone conversations, but I admire you and love you deeply. Your memory will never be forgotten.
Everyone gets down from time to time. When I am not in a good place, I try to think about something positive and uplifting. Sometimes, well okay, often, my mind brings me to unusual places, which make me laugh. Let me share 9 of my thoughts with you. Do any resonate?
You are a miracle.
You are all winners. I often find myself saying, ” I never win anything.” Then, I thought about this statistic: According to scientists, it is estimated that we have a 1 in 400 trillion chance of being born. 1 in 400,000,000,000! So, let’s say that there are currently about 7.5 billion people living on the earth right now. Let’s create 553 planet earths, each with 7.5 billion people. Now, you have to randomly choose just 1 person from any of the 553 planets. That person is you! That’s how incredibly lucky you are to be alive today. Crazy, right? We are all winners in the lottery of life.
Freedom rocks. There is so much beauty in the world and most of us have the ability to enjoy the air, sky, animals, friends, etc. I often think of those in prison, in solitary confinement or people who live in countries where freedom is severely restricted. Take a minute to take in and appreciate the tiniest of detail in your surroundings. Then celebrate your freedom by dancing, throwing your arms up, kissing a loved one. Why? Because you can.
Appreciate the beauty all around you.
Positivity. The way you interpret life events will definitely influence your feelings because thoughts create emotion. As master of your thoughts, you can put a positive spin on whatever happens to you, which will improve how you feel on a regular basis. And, if you end up in a slump, remember that you will not ALWAYS be in that same exact frame of mind. Laughter, joy, and happiness are not far away because feelings are temporary and fleeting. The way you feel will inevitably change.
I’m a modern girl. I am so happy I live in modern times, and not in the Middle Ages. Life does not look so fun back then. Serfs under the feudal system worked long and hard, doing back-breaking work all day long. Women spent their days spinning wool and making clothes (seriously, can you see me successfully making clothes on a spindle all day? They’d throw me to the pigs). Only 50% of the people lived until 35, which is the average life expectancy of the time. There was no electricity and families lived in one room huts where 1/3 of the space was fenced off for the animals. The hearth in the middle of the room gave off heat, but the air was always smoke-filled. You get the idea.
Daily life in the Middle Ages
Cave Girl? No thanks! I’m also glad I was not born a cave girl. With my horrible vision, I would have been TOAST very early on. By the time I was in 2nd grade, my teacher figured out I was very nearsighted. Today, I am considered legally blind without correction. So when I play out my pre-historic times life, I get this scenario, “That pile of leaves looks fun! One, two, three-JUMP!” Then, in midair, I freeze, “Oh snap! The pile of leaves just made a growling noise that sounds just like a sabretooth cat. Good-bye cruel world.”
Sabertooth Cat
The internet is amazing! Information 24/7 at your fingertips. And Skype helps connect to people far away, in the US and way beyond. Today, it’s so much easier to research a topic from home instead of going to the library, using the Dewey Decimal system to find a book on a topic of interest.Now, video call a friend or a relative….just make sure you are wearing clothes to be seen in, at least from the waist up!
This photo makes me nostalgic, but I prefer the internet any day!
Changing your first name is totally legal. Seriously, there are some parents who did not think straight when naming their child. Here are a few very unfortunate names I’ve found while browsing the awesome internet:
Jack Goff
Dick Smalley
Ben Dover
Donald Duck
Phat Ho
Preserved Fish (Thanks, Shirley!)
And, there are many, many more horrible names out there. Many of these names are found on prison warrants for arrest. Well, what did you think would happen when giving your kids such embarrassing monikers?
Evolution is Cool For example, giants do not exist. Bare with me on this one. I always wonder how many ants I’ve unknowingly killed. To an ant, I am a huge monster, with big, murderous feet. I am so thankful I am not a tiny ant, and even more grateful that giants exist only in folklore. Can you imagine if we had to be worried about being crushed by giants roaming the earth? That would totally suck. And on that same note, I must confess that I am happy the dinosaurs are extinct. I just could not deal with knowing that at any time, I might come across an enormously fast lizard with little tiny hands reaching out to devour me for lunch.
Giants are fake.
CMT Sucks! (Joyce Steinkamp, thanks for the lollipop idea!)CMT stands for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease-a progressive disease of he the peripheral nerves. Know if you have CMT, there is much more information, research, progress and awareness of this very common, but rare disease than ever before in history. And our researchers are working day and night to provide treatments to stop CMT. Bottom line – hope is real. But, believing without acting will not get us over the goal line. So, if you really want to feel good about yourself, get involved in a charitable cause like the CMTA by volunteering, donating, publicizing, joining igive.com or amazonsmile.com (choose CMTA as your charity of choice). Be part of the solution – cmtausa.org
On Saturday, March 18, the CMTA put on a Patient/ Family Conference in collaboration with the University of Miami. We had a wonderful turnout, with people from all over the world in attendance. Gilles Bouchard, the CMTA’s Board Chair, explained progress to date on CMTA-funded research. I wanted to share my notes with You!
In 2008, the CMTA’s Board of Directors launched STAR, or Strategy to Accelerate Research. It was based on two important ideas:
Idea #1: Causes Are Known
We know the causes of many types of CMT. The big breakthrough was in 1991 when the gene PMP22 for CMT1A was discovered. Today 90 different genes have been identified as causing CMT and more and more types of CMT are being discovered each year. This is the foundation of the STAR strategy because if we know the cause of the disease, we can duplicate it in the laboratory. It is often said that “a problem that is well stated is half resolved,” and this is the case for CMT, unlike most other diseases where causes are either unknown or very complex.
Idea #2: Manage Research According to Sound Business Principles.
STAR is based on 5 core business principles:
a) Strategy: based on knowing the cause of the disease and what to focus on.
b) Our team finds the best researchers in the world and asks them to implement the projects to support our strategy, unlike most foundations who fund the best projects which are presented to them.
c) Accountability is not the most prevalent value in the world of research. We hold our researchers to their goals. We take your money very seriously. Our researchers are not fully paid until they fully deliver.
d) Collaboration: researchers still tend to work in silos. They are experts in one domain and have one focus. To solve CMT, we bring people from different fields together so that they work collaboratively. We are now seeing more and more technologies and therapies emanating from many different fields of study.
e) Partnerships: developing a new drug is not inexpensive. It costs between 400 million to 1 billion dollars to bring a new drug to market. The CMTA does not have this kind of money. We have to work with those who have the money to develop the drugs – big, strong pharmaceutical companies. In the end, they will carry the ball over the line for us.
Our Strategy. There are 5 keys elements to our strategy:
1) Assays. Assays are tests. We recreate CMT in Petri dishes. And then with high throughput screening or HTS, we test hundreds of thousands of drugs. This gives us a way to see if the medications tested have any effect on CMT. We are looking for hits. What are hits? Hits are drugs that have a positive effect on CMT.
2) Animal Models. Once we have promising hits, we then test them on laboratory animals. From millions of potential compounds, we can narrow it down to a few of the most promising compounds or drugs.
3) Stem Cells: We take human skin samples and put them through a stem cell process to create Neurons (nerve cells) or Schwann cells (which make myelin). This way, we create assays that better represent human biology. We have good models for CMT1A and have been successful with CMT type 2.
4)Partners: For CMT1A, we’ve tested millions of compounds and with the help of a major pharmaceutical company; we have several promising compounds which need to be fine-tuned for humans. With the assays, animals, and tests, we’ve created a “toolbox” for anyone who has new therapies for CMT. They can come and work with us and test them, including new technologies that may be from other domains. We can get solutions from the entire medical field. For example, 4 different drug companies who work on many different diseases reached out to the CMTA in the past couple of months alone to discuss potential therapies.
5) Clinical Trials: We are working to get ready to conduct clinical trials and develop outcome measures – how do we measure whether a drug is effective for CMT or not? See further for more details
How do we work?
We created an advisory board with top-notch researchers. The Scientific Advisory Board has 14 world class scientists. The work of STAR is not only about science, but about turning science into therapies. Another way of saying turning science into therapies is translational research. So we created the Therapy Expert Board (TEB) – a group of experts that tell us how good the science is in terms of turning it into therapies for those with CMT.
More recently, we realized we had to get ready for clinical trials and a lot of partners were coming to us for advice on how to design clinical trials and outcome measures. So we created a 3rd board, the Clinical Expert Board (CEB), where we brought together a set of world-class experts, who are helping us help our partners think about how to design clinical trials.
We have come a long way since the inception of STAR in 2008. Over the last 2 years, the CMTA has financed 40 active projects and spent 3.5 million dollars on research. We are spending your dollars wisely and in a very focused manner. We are spending 10 times more on research than when we initially started. Success breeds success. Thanks to the support from all our donors, there is huge momentum and promise.
CMTA Research Update by Disease.
CMT1A Over the past 7-8 years, we’ve done animal studies, performed HTS, got hits and worked with a company called Genzyme. Today, we’ve narrowed it down to 2 families of compounds which are being fine-tuned in the lab. Genzyme uses a traditional, small molecule pharmaceutical approach. The entire biotech industry is based on an approach where you create biological living proteins and go directly after your target.
In parallel, another company came to us with a very different approach using RNA interference. RNA interference uses little pieces of DNA to get into your nerves and affect the way the cells creates the protein which overexpresses PMP22. We’ve seen promising results in rat testing. This technology is currently used in 2 approved drugs on the market.
CMT1X
CMT1X is the second most common type of CMT. Researchers have identified a relationship between CMT1X and inflammation. We’ve identified the source of this inflammation and we are going after therapies to target this source. The approach comes from cancer research! Another approach is gene therapy: In CMT, there is a problem with small pieces of DNA, so you can send the right DNA via a virus into the nerves, replacing the wrong DNA. We are also investigating gene therapy for CMT4.
CMT1B
We have good assays and mouse models. We’ve also had several hits and potential compounds. As in CMT1X, inflammation may play a role in CMT1B, so CMT 1X research might help CMT1B.
CMT2A
We’ve patented a rat model and have seen promising results using stem cells. We will also complete a small screening of FDA-approved drugs this year.
CMT2E
We have stem cell assays and good animal models. Testing will commence soon.
Clinical Trials-How You Can Help
Every person with CMT has a big role to play. There are currently 20 Center of Excellence in the US and abroad. You can help by joining our patient registry. Clinicians need as much data on as many patients as possible to help drug companies conduct successful trials. We are also developing “outcome measures” to be able to see the effect of a drug as soon as possible so that we are able to keep the trials short and inexpensive. The traditional CMT test scores require too much time to show if a drug is working or not, so we are looking at various “biomarkers” such as fat content in calf muscles or certain chemicals in the blood.
Good Friends are Hard to Find: CMT feet, Cheetah legs & Time travel
It was in the fall of 9th grade, and Yohan had just twisted his ankle, yet again. It was a bad sprain, nothing a couple weeks of icing and crutches wouldn’t cure. But, a bum ankle was just the tip of the iceberg. Chronic sprains, neuropathic pain, footwear woes were more the norm as his CMT progressed. His good friend Will, trying to make Yohan feel better, innocently came up with a solution to stop the madness. “Yohan, why don’t you just get below-the-knee amputations? I bet they could give you an awesome, high-tech pair of Cheetah Legs, and then you could run, play sports, hike….you could do it all!, ” he said as his thoughts drifted to Yohan’s first gold medal sprinting win at the Paralympics.
As crazy as this idea of artificial limbs sounded at the time, it didn’t seem so far-fetched today.
Here are the facts:
-Yohan had reconstructive foot surgery in June.
-As soon as he was given the go ahead to walk, he developed a pressure sore on the ball of his foot.
-Pressure sores are persistent and in his case, a sign that his foot mechanics are off.
-Orthotic modifications have not been helpful.
-One surgeon suggested surgically lifting the big toe bone, and straightening all the toes, while a second surgeon had a completely different perspective. They do agree on one detail: Both think another surgery is imperative to get him back on his feet. We were hesitant to get a second opinion- it often confuses the picture even more, and then the patient is left to figure out the “right” solution.
Lately, I find myself saying the “F” word ….a lot.
Why? I am angry, frustrated, scared, disappointed, and did I mention, scared? It feels as if we are rolling the dice or playing Russian roulette: One wrong move and BANG!! You are no longer walking. Maybe a classic case of negative thinking, but that’s the analogy which came to me, so I used it.
Today, I’ve had a bad case of the “shouldawouldacouldas,” otherwise known as regret or backward thinking. If only if we could just go back to May, to the joy and happiness of Yohan’s graduation day, with the knowledge we have today. Maybe the surgery would have gone differently. Maybe we would not even have had the surgery. Maybe he did not even need surgery. High? No, I am not high….a bit delusional perhaps, but not high.
I was even Googling “time travel + start-up companies+ Steven Hawkins” hoping to discover an investment opportunity to enhance the development for time machine technology. We could even launch a Time Travel app! Wouldn’t that be cool? I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I did find this interesting article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1269288/STEPHEN-HAWKING-How-build-time-machine.html”
Balderdash!! STOP. REWIND. The only way forward is to look ahead, not back.
If I invest in anything, it will be in Yohan’s future and the future of so many with CMT. At least in this realm, the CMTA is making tangible and reality- based progress. If you do not know about the STAR or Strategy to Accelerate Research initiative, click here: http://www.cmtausa.org/research/our-star-strategy/
We are not really ready for the cheetah leg prosthetics. Having chronic pain myself, I too fantasize about getting cool-looking prosthetic limbs. It’s tempting. I mean, who wouldn’t want to look and get around like actor, activist and athlete Aimee Mullins?:
But, both Yohan and I are kind of attached (literally and physically) to our own feet and calves, And then, of course, there is that problem of nerve pain, phantom limb pain, emotional turmoil, financial considerations, etc…..it’s a big decision, one we are seriously not considering. But Will was right, they sure are impressive. Love you Will!
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