FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON April 11, 2007

Massachusetts General Hospital Neurologist Honored by AAN for ALS Research

Robert Brown, MD, DPhil, Receives 2007 Robert Wartenberg Lecture Award

St. Paul, Minn -

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding the 2007 Robert Wartenberg Lecture Award to Robert H. Brown, Jr., MD, DPhil, with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, for his research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Brown will receive the award during the AAN’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, held April 28 – May 5, 2007. The Robert Wartenberg Lecture Award is awarded to a neurologist for excellence in clinically relevant research. Brown is receiving the award for his work in the genetics of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neuron disease), a rapidly lethal paralyzing disorder that has no treatment. Brown and associates were the first to identify the first ALS gene in 1993; he has subsequently assisted in the identification of two more ALS genes and in the development of animal models of motor neuron disease. His present studies encompass the search for genetic factors in non-familial ALS and new strategies to use genetic models to screen for ALS treatments. “I am honored to be selected to deliver this year’s Wartenberg Lecture,” remarked Brown. The Wartenberg Lecture is presented during the Presidential Plenary Session of the Scientific Program of the AAN’s 59th Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 1, 2007. The 59th Annual Meeting takes place in the Hynes Convention Center. It is the world’s largest annual gathering of neurologists. –end–

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit www.aan.com.