March 24 Golf Tournament Raises Funds for ALS Research
At UA College of Medicine

DATE:

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 11 a.m. -- Registration begins 12:30 p.m. -- Shotgun start 5 - 6:30 p.m. -- Cocktails/Silent Auction 6:45 - 8 p.m. -- Dinner/Live Auction/Cash Bar (Master of Ceremonies: Elliot Glicksman; entertainment courtesy of Dave Fitzsimmons, Arizona Daily Star; special live auction item: Classic 1984 Mercedes 280 SL Roadster, European Model, including both tops, with 100,000 original miles, donated by a friend of the Himelic Foundation to be sold to the highest bidder; dinner ticket required to participate in bidding.)

LOCATION:

Omni National Golf Resort & Spa, 2727 W. Club Drive, Tucson

FEES:

Golf/dinner: $175 per person/$700 per foursome (payment in excess of $160 per person qualifies as a tax-deductible donation). Format will be four-person scramble (form your own foursome or we will pair you). Limited to 144 players. Dinner only: $50 per person (payment in excess of $34 per person qualifies as a tax-deductible donation) Tee box signs: $300 (fully tax-deductible) Sponsorships available: Gold ($3,000); Silver ($2,000); Bronze ($1,000)

REGISTRATION/MORE INFORMATION:

Contact Ana Himelic (520) 275-8187, AHimelic@hotmail.com, or visit the website, http://www.jimhimelicfoundation.org.

Since it began six years ago, Tucson's annual Jim Himelic Memorial Golf Tournament has raised $385,000 to benefit amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research at The University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Organizers once again are asking the Southern Arizona community to participate in this fun-filled daylong event to support vital scientific research with the goal of improving our understanding of ALS and developing effective treatments that one day will lead to a cure.

The event -- including golf tournament, dinner and charity auctions -- is named in honor of Jim Himelic, a friend of the Tucson community and much respected juvenile court judge who died from ALS in February 2000. The foundation, which bears his name, was created by his family, friends and colleagues in an effort to fund local ALS medical research.

ALS (also called "Lou Gehrig's disease" after the famous New York Yankee who lost his life to the disorder) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting adults from all walks of life. The disease, which occurs randomly in the population, causes a slow loss of muscle function by affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord utilized for movement, leading eventually to death. Although significant advances have occurred in the medical community's understanding of the processes underlying the loss of these motor neurons, no effective treatment exists at this time.

"Without doubt, the Jim Himelic Foundation and its supporters have made a lasting impact on local ALS research," says Timothy Miller, MD, assistant professor of neurology and pathology at the UA College of Medicine and director of the Jim Himelic Neuromuscular Research Laboratory. "The foundation's work supports a variety of laboratory-based investigations, including work examining the basic control mechanism of neural stem cells. We hope that this current work will help shed light on the potential that adult stem cells may have in providing relief to populations of affected neurons. The support of the Himelic Foundation has proved crucial in our laboratory research program and we are thankful to all supporters of this work locally, nationally and internationally. It remains our goal to expand the utility of laboratory bench discoveries into the clinic and provide for our patients."

On May 20, 2004, the stem cell laboratory in the Department of Neurology at the UA College of Medicine officially was named "The Jim Himelic Neuromuscular Research Laboratory." A major focus of the UA Neuromuscular Program regards stem cell biology and understanding the controlling mechanisms. "Investigators from many countries are working to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this disease and, along with patients, are providing trials of novel treatments. By focusing on the control of adult stem cells, we hope to provide data to fill in part of the puzzle that is essential to stopping ALS," Dr. Miller says.

Your help continues to be needed. According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, every day an average of 15 people are newly diagnosed with ALS -- more than 5,000 people per year -- and ALS currently affects as many as 35,000 Americans. Unfortunately, the average life expectancy following diagnosis typically is two to five years. You can make an immediate difference by supporting this local effort to eradicate ALS.

For more information about the Jim Himelic Memorial Golf Classic and ALS research at the UA, visit the website, http://www.jimhimelicfoundation.org.

MEDICAL WRITERS/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS NOTE:
Media are welcome to cover this event, and participants will be available for interviews.