Health & Fitness

Striving To
Help Others

Three women team with Al Taubman to raise
big bucks for U-M scientist, a frontline
medical fighter against ALS.

Judith Doner Berne
Special to the Jewish News

Ann Arbor

L

isa Rosenberg, Jody
Rogow and Sheri Mark-
Slaim have a lot in com-
mon. They are wives, moms and
lawyers and have close relatives
who died of amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), the fatal illness
that many people know as Lou
Gehrig's disease.
For Rosenberg and Rogow,
who both live in West Bloomfield,
it was their dads, Sanford Roth
and Jerry Klask, with whom each
practiced law. And for Mark-
Slaim of Bloomfield Township,
it was a close cousin, Steve Katz,
and then her stepdad, Bill Ross.
"For a disease, it's not that
well known," Mark-Slaim says,
although about 5,000 people
are diagnosed each year and
Michigan is among the states
with the most victims.
The National Institute of
Neurological Disorders defines
ALS as a rapidly progressive,
invariably fatal neurological dis-
ease that attacks the nerve cells
responsible for controlling volun-.
tary muscles.
"There are no -survivors to
march for a cure," Rosenberg
says, because most die three
to five years from the onset of
symptoms.
Gehrig, the beloved New York
Yankees first baseman, died in
1941 at age 38, two years after he
was diagnosed.
Those with the disease "need
to live their lives with their fam-

ily," Rogow says, because the
disease moves so quickly. "They
can't advocate"
"I give my money to a lot of
causes, says Mark-Slaim. "The
only one that I give my time to
is ALS."
For the past seven years,
the three women have held an
annual benefit to raise money
and awareness for ALS research
and to provide a respite care pro-
gram for ALS caretakers. They
have also successfully lobbied
-in Washington to step up social
security disability payments for
ALS patients.
"I couldn't save my dad, but I
can make a difference in some-
one else's life:' Rosenberg says.
"People aren't merely touched by
ALS, they are victims!'

Sharing The Wealth

The women directed the research
money to University of Michigan
scientist Dr. Eva Feldman,
M.D., Ph.D., who diagnosed
Rosenberg's dad and was Mark-
Slaim's stepdad's doctor.
Feldman, recognized as a lead-
ing expert in the diagnosis and
treatment of ALS, developed a
cellular procedure for the rapid
screening of drugs for potential
therapies. She leads a 35-mem-
ber-and-growing Program for
Understanding Neurological
Disease (PFUND) on the
fifth floor of the University of
Michigan's new Biomedical
Science Research Building. She
also sees patients.
"From the bench to the bed-
side" is a goal of her laboratory
team that is working towards a

cure for ALS and for the related
neurological complications of
diabetes.
"We understand what causes
the disease,7eldman says.
Currently, 330 patients are part
of a study that seeks to delay its
progression. Results are expected
next spring.
PFUND received a huge boost
last month at the "Take Flight
Charity Auction and Gala:'
attended by 700 people. The
event was planned by Rosenberg,
Rogow and Mark, but hosted
for the first time by Bloomfield
Hills philanthropist A. Alfred
Taubman. It raised $1.82 million,
including Taubman's $1 million
contribution.
That made it the single largest
evening of fundraising ever for
U-M, says Stephanie Peterson,
the university's major gifts offi-
cer."I am thrilled beyond belief,'
says Feldman, who was the
evening's honoree.

Power Of Funding

The funds will add people and
computer power. "We feel it's very
important for scientists from
many disciplines to approach the
problem',' Feldman says.
And because of new technolo-
gy,"What used to take me one to
two years only a short time back,
I can now do in a month.
"I truly believe ALS will be
solved in my lifetime," she says.
Feldman, who lived with her
three children in Bloomfield
Township for 19 years before
moving to Ann Arbor this sum-
mer, is Taubman's personal phy-
sician.

Lisa Rosenberg and Jody Rogow, both of West Bloomfield, with A.
Alfred Taubman and Sheri Mark-Slaim, both of Bloomfield Hills

"I first met Dr. Feldman about
nine years ago when my doctors
at U-M Hospital referred me to
her for tests:' Taubman told those
who attended the benefit.
"She gave me the bad news
that I was suffering from Type II
diabetes, which required imme-
diate treatment. I didn't like the
diagnosis, so I said: (Dr. Feldman,
I want a second opinion.' She
replied, 'Okay, Mr. Taubman, I can

She also developed a clini-
cal screening instrument for
the rapid diagnosis of diabetic
neuropathy that is being used
worldwide.
The Take Flight event, subtitled
"Soar to New Heights for ALS
Research:' was held, appropriate-
ly, at the Taubman Air Terminals
in Waterford Sept. 16. It featured
tours of his private jet and an
aerial performance by Feldman's

"I truly believe ALS will be
solved in my lifetime."

— Dr. Eva Feldman

give you a second opinion: You
have diabetes ... and you're ugly!
I knew right then that she was
the right doctor for me
Taubman hosted this year's
benefit based on their relation-
ship, his regard for her research
and the death of his friend,
former New York Senator Jacob
Javits, from ALS. "If you have
known someone with ALS, you
know the vicious nature of this
disease and the toll it takes on
its victims and their families;'
Taubman says.
The ties between ALS and
diabetic neuropathy are strong,
Feldman says. She introduced
the idea that a certain form of
cell death, known as apoptosis,
may underlie both conditions.
"In both diseases, the large nerve
cells become ill, whether from
too much glucose in diabetes or
toxins in ALS. The mechanism is
the same!"

sister, Elizabeth Feldman, who
is a Cirque du Soleil-style circus
performer.
"It was a family affair;' Eva
Feldman says.
"It was probably one of the
nicest events I've ever attended
in this town:' said Mel Kaftan, a
Birmingham resident.
"Most people probably think of
Lou Gehrig when they hear ALS,
but I think of Sandy Roth (Lisa's
dad). He was such a virile guy
and then bam," Kaftan said.
"It was our pleasure to attend
and make a donation!" 17

Donations can still be made to
The ALS Event, ao University of

Michigan, 5017 BSRB, 109 Zina

Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, Ml 48109

or by calling Stephanie Peterson,

(734) 647-0616.

October 26 . 2006

37