Participants take part in the World Record Ice Bucket Challenge held at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on August 22, 2014, tilting buckets of ice water over their heads.
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Scott Barber/Getty Images
Participants take part in the World Record Ice Bucket Challenge held at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on August 22, 2014, tilting buckets of ice water over their heads.
Scott Barber/Getty Images
Looking back at 2014, you may remember the videos littering your social media feeds. It shows friends waiting prominently in the garden, nervously laughing at the cold snap that was about to hit them.
After your friend had a little talk and promised to donate to the ALS Society, a ton of ice water was poured over their heads as they were trying to shake off the cold, drenching them. Each video, whether before or after, included a challenge to another friend to do the same.
This is how nearly all ALS Ice Bucket Challenges have been. What might have seemed like just a social media trend, he actually made a big difference in the world of ALS research.
The ALS Association said $2.2 million in funding from the Ice Bucket Challenge funded the development and testing of a new drug approved this week by the Food and Drug Administration to treat ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. rice field. .
Calaneet Balas, President and CEO of the ALS Association, said: “This is a victory for the entire ALS community that came together to advocate for early approval of treatment.”
The new drug isn’t a cure for the deadly neurodegenerative disease, but it slows its effects.
Drugs recently approved by the FDA are not the only ones to benefit from the challenge. The trend has raised more than $115 million, he said, with the ALS Association funding 130 research projects and 40 potential treatments in development in 12 countries. .
