Funding News - NINDS Notes - October 2003

New NINDS Director, Story C. Landis, Ph.D.

Dr. Story C. Landis recently became director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Landis, who previously served as the scientific director of the NINDS intramural program, began her appointment on September 1, 2003.

    “Dr. Landis is widely recognized for her research on the development of the nervous system and has already encouraged close ties among the NIH neuroscience community,” said NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni. “She is a distinguished scientist and a skilled manager who will be an ideal leader for the NINDS’ growing translational research program.”

    As the new NINDS director, Dr. Landis will oversee an annual budget of $1.5 billion and a staff of more than 900 scientists, physician-scientists, and administrators. The Institute supports research by investigators in public and private institutions across the country, as well as by scientists working in its intramural laboratories and branches in Bethesda, Maryland. Since 1950, the Institute has been at the forefront of U.S. efforts in brain research, with studies in areas ranging from the structure and function of single brain cells to research on the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological disorders to, most recently, the translational research that is helping bridge the gap.

    “I am delighted to have been chosen to lead an NIH Institute with an outstanding staff, whose investigators have a wonderful history of accomplishments in basic and clinical neurology,” said Dr. Landis. “This is a particularly exciting time in neuroscience with many opportunities for rapid translation of scientific discovery into new diagnostics and therapeutics. I look forward to developing strong collaborations between the NINDS, the other NIH institutes that fund neuroscience research, and our most important partners, patient and professional advocacy groups.”

    Dr. Landis joined the NINDS in 1995 as scientific director and worked with then-Institute Director Zach W. Hall, Ph.D., to coordinate and re-engineer the Institute’s intramural research programs. Between 1999 and 2000, under the leadership of NINDS Director Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., she led the movement, together with NIMH Scientific Director Robert Desimone, Ph.D., to bring some sense of unity and common purpose to 200 laboratories from eleven different NIH Institutes, all of which conduct leading edge clinical and basic neuroscience research.

    A native of New England, Dr. Landis received her undergraduate degree in biology from Wellesley College in 1967, and her master’s degree (1970) and her Ph.D. (1973) from Harvard University where she conducted research on cerebellar development in mice. After postdoctoral work at Harvard University studying transmitter plasticity in sympathetic neurons, she served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School Department of Neurobiology.

    In 1985 she joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, where she held many academic positions including associate professor of Pharmacology, professor and director of the Center on Neurosciences, and chairman of the Department of Neurosciences-a department she was instrumental in establishing. Under her leadership, Case Western's neuroscience department achieved worldwide acclaim and a reputation for excellence.

    Throughout her research career, Dr. Landis has made many fundamental contributions to the understanding of developmental interactions required for synapse formation. She has garnered many honors and awards and is an elected fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Neurological Association. In 2002, she was named the president-elect of the Society for Neuroscience.

Biobehavioral Pain Research

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invites grant applications for biobehavioral pain research. This announcement is made together with 9 other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).*

Pain is a critical national health problem and has a profound effect on the quality of life. In addition to possible harmful effects on immune function, pain can cause disruptions in sleep, eating, mobility, and overall function. Scientists are making progress in understanding the neuroanatomical pathways, and the neurophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms involved in pain, however, understanding the subjective pain experience in individuals presents unique scientific challenges.

Potential areas of research interest include studies to: explore the neural basis of pain perception; examine the neuroendocrine and immunological correlates of pain; investigate relationships between pharmacological and behavioral interventions, including both conventional and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies to prevent pain; use neuroimaging to study structural and functional correlates of pain perception; explore the sensory, cognitive, and affective aspects of acute and chronic pain across the lifespan; examine addiction risk in patients taking controlled drugs for pain, the role of tolerance, addiction, and dependence in the consumption of these drugs, and implications of long-term use in noncancer disease states; develop and refine biobehavioral techniques for optimizing adherence to pain management; identify and consider barriers to adherence to pain management; establish dose-response curves for biobehavioral interventions; study cognitive factors in the experience of pain, disability, and pain behaviors across disorders, including such factors as self-efficacy, perceived control, and pain beliefs; and test culturally sensitive approaches to pain assessment and management, including appropriate methods for translation of the instruments into other languages and validation among individuals who speak languages other than English.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Linda Porter, Program Director, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2113, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-9964; fax: 301-402-2060; e-mail: lp216a@nih.gov.

*For a full list of supporting NIH components and a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-152.html.

Neuroprotective CNS Barriers in Neurological Diseases

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) invite grant applications for research on the neurobiological and cerebrovascular mechanisms through which the neuroprotective blood-brain and blood-CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) barriers function in the healthy and diseased brain.*

A major challenge for treatment of most brain disorders is overcoming the difficulty of delivering therapeutic agents to specific regions of the brain. In its neuroprotective role, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) functions to hinder the delivery of many potentially important diagnostic and therapeutic agents to the brain. Therapeutic molecules and genes that might otherwise be effective in diagnosis and therapy do not cross the BBB in adequate amounts.

Potential areas of research interest include studies to: develop and characterize in vivo and in vitro models that reflect the unique features of the BBB as translational models of neurological disease; examine the genes and proteins that are uniquely expressed by the intact BBB and mechanisms by which brain cells regulate endothelial cell gene expression; explore the genesis and regulation of the BBB, its stem cell origins, and remodeling of the diseased/damaged/aged brain microvasculature; identify signal transduction pathways of brain capillary endothelial transcytosis and tight junction regulation under normal and disease conditions; characterize brain endothelial tight junction proteins in normal and disease states; investigate the various enzymatic barrier mechanisms; develop neuroimaging tools to identify changes in BBB permeability in vivo; and examine the plasticity of the blood-brain and blood-CSF interfaces throughout the lifespan.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Thomas Jacobs, Program Director, Neural Environment Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2112, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1431; fax: 301-480-2424; e-mail: tj12g@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-03-165.html.

Reducing Disparities in Epilepsy Treatment

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) encourages grant applications for research on reducing disparities in epilepsy treatment among minority populations.*

Increasingly, health care providers, scientists, and policy-makers view improved access to health care as central to the elimination of health disparities. Therefore, to reduce or eliminate disparities associated with epilepsy, studies are needed to address health care access and delivery issues that affect epilepsy treatment among minorities.

Areas of potential research interest include: patient-based barriers to access, including barriers that are structural (e.g., transportation, availability of care, and the organization of the health care system), financial (e.g., insurance coverage), or personal/family (e.g., living situation, living environment, cultural attitudes and beliefs, and language); provider-based mediators of care (e.g., cultural competency, communication skills, medical knowledge and skills, and biases and stereotyping); factors influencing patient adherence to recommended treatment (e.g., involvement in care, preferences and expectations about treatment, and literacy); factors influencing patient response to therapies (e.g., genetic mutations and biomarkers) that may affect use; and interaction of patient, family, and provider perceptions of epilepsy regarding treatment.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Margaret Jacobs, Program Director, Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2113, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1917; fax: 301-480-2424; e-mail: mj22o@nih.gov, or Dr. Ronnie D. Horner, Program Director, Office of Minority Health and Research, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2153, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-2581; fax: 301-594-5929; e-mail: rh266m@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-03-164.html.

Reducing Stroke Disparities Through Risk Factor Self-Management

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invites grant applications for research on reducing disparities in stroke through prevention of first and recurrent strokes among minority populations.*

The purpose of this program announcement is to solicit applications for research that will identify effective, culturally acceptable interventions involving self-management of risk factors for first and recurrent stroke for members of minority populations. The self-management approach to stroke risk factor control holds high promise as a means of achieving patient adherence to stroke prevention regimens.

The chronic disease self-management program is one of the more widely spread models of this interventional approach. The challenge lies in tailoring such models for stroke risk factor self-management to be effective for diverse racial/ethnic groups with varying social resources. Tailoring of the intervention may involve, but is not limited to, modifications that address such factors as: medical care availability or accessibility; level of health literacy; economic resource availability; social organizations, such as churches, within the community; and family or community traditions.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Ronnie D. Horner, Program Director, Office of Minority Health and Research, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2153, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-2581; fax: 301-594-5929; e-mail: rh266m@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-03-166.html.

Sleep Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinson-like Conditions

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) encourage grant applications for research on sleep disturbances in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Parkinson-like conditions.*

Sleep disturbances affect the overwhelming majority of PD patients during the course of their illness, and have significant adverse effects upon quality of life and, in some cases, safety on the road and in the workplace. Medications prescribed for PD may also affect sleep and wakefulness. These problems also extend into the larger population of patients with neurodegenerative disorders that have parkinsonian features, collectively referred to as Parkinson's related neurological conditions (PRNC).

Areas of potential research include studies to: examine the natural history of sleep and wakefulness symptoms in PD and PRNC; elucidate mechanisms by which these conditions affect sleep and wakefulness; examine the interrelationship between disturbed sleep and impaired wakefulness; elucidate abnormalities in the neurobiology of hypocretin and leptin associated with PD or PRNC and leading to altered chemosensitivity or increased upper airway resistance during sleep; elucidate mechanisms by which pharmacotherapies for these conditions affect sleep and wakefulness; identify promising interventions to improve the sleep and wakefulness of PD and PRNC patients; optimize the intervention strategy; assess the appropriate delivery system or parameter settings of an electronic device or surgical technique; assess the safety and tolerability at various doses or concentrations of a specific intervention; and explore pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Merrill M. Mitler, Program Director, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2116, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-9964; fax: 301-402-2060; e-mail: mm777k@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-03-131.html.

Applications to Develop Tools for Data Sharing Collaborations Sought

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invites grant applications to develop tools for collaborations that involve data sharing. This announcement is made together with 6 other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and two components of the National Science Foundation (NSF).*

Until recently, data were generated in a single laboratory and served as the basis for publications in the peer reviewed literature. While that pathway still exists, a second pathway is emerging. In this second pathway, the raw data generated by the initial laboratory are used by a second laboratory to make new discoveries that, in all likelihood, would not have otherwise been made. The purpose of this program announcement is to invite proposals to develop tools and techniques to creatively manage and analyze large amounts of data generated by collaborations among researchers.

Examples of potential areas of research interest include: tools and techniques for collaborative analysis, access, and visualization of data; tools and techniques that ensure that new collaboration technologies are compatible with emerging middleware standards, including security and authentication controls; tools that facilitate communication among collaborators; and tools and techniques that facilitate the creation and curation of data repositories used in a collaborative fashion.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Yuan Liu, Program Director, Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2110, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1917; fax: 301-480-2424; e-mail: yl5o@nih.gov.

* For a full list of supporting NIH and NSF components and a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-134.html.

Bench to Bedside Research on Type 1 Diabetes and Its Complications Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) requests applications for bench to bedside research on type 1 diabetes and its complications. This request is made together with 5 other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).*

Diabetes is difficult to control with the current therapies available. As a result, some patients with type 1 diabetes suffer devastating consequences including accelerated cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases, nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, oral diseases, and premature death. The overall objective of the request for applications (RFA) is to stimulate partnerships between basic and clinical scientists with the goal of translating advances in the understanding of the molecular basis of type 1 diabetes into new therapies for the disease.

Examples of potential areas of research interest include: development and/or testing of strategies to retard or reverse the immune and/or inflammatory processes leading to the development of type 1 diabetes and its macro- and microvascular complications; development of improved approaches to pancreas harvesting and/or islet isolation, evaluation, or administration; development and/or testing of strategies to develop new or improved sources of beta cells/islets or to enhance the regeneration or viability of beta cells/islets; development of non-human primate or other animal models of type 1 diabetes or its complications which closely parallel the human disease; identification and/or evaluation of surrogate endpoints which can be used in clinical trials to prevent, delay, or reverse type 1 diabetes and its complications; and development or testing of innovative pharmacological agents and interventions to prevent or halt the progression of type 1 diabetes or its complications.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: February 20, 2004.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Paul Nichols, Program Director, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2108, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-9964; fax: 301-401-2060; e-mail: pn13w@nih.gov.

*For a full list of supporting NIH components and a more detailed description of this request for applications, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-03-019.html.

Research on Hypoglycemia in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) request grant applications for basic and clinical research on hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes.*

Large clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of intensified glucose control in preventing the long-term vascular complications of diabetes. However, episodes of severe hypoglycemia may complicate intensified treatment and are often a major obstacle to the achievement of euglycemia in many patients. This request for applications (RFA) seeks basic and clinical studies to enhance understanding of how the brain and other critical tissues sense and respond to hypoglycemia, delineate the effects of hypoglycemia on brain function, and develop improved methodologies to prevent hypoglycemia-based on an understanding of physiological glucose sensing and counterregulation.

Topics of potential research interest include studies to: understand the effect of diabetes and hypoglycemia on the metabolism of glucose by the brain; investigate the role of sleep in the development of hypoglycemia and elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in the promotion of hypoglycemia by sleep; explore the role of sleep on counterregulatory responses, and determine the role of nighttime hypoglycemia in loss of awareness; understand the mechanisms underlying defective counterregulation after recurrent hypoglycemia and the development of hypoglycemia unawareness; describe and understand the long-term effects of recurrent hypoglycemia on brain function; assess the long-term adaptations of the central nervous system to recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia and the effects of hypoglycemia on synaptic plasticity; and apply existing imaging technologies, or develop new methods to image brain function, especially in the hypothalamus, in order to understand the neurological and cognitive effects of hypoglycemia and the neural substrates of hypoglycemia unawareness.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: February 20, 2004.

For more information, potential applicants should contact the Neural Environment Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2114A, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1431; fax: 301-480-2424.

*For a more detailed description of this request for applications, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-03-017.html.

Applications for Model Validation for Antiepileptogenic and Resistant Epilepsy Therapies Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) requests applications for model validation for antiepileptogenic and resistant epilepsy therapies.*

The goal of this request for applications (RFA) is to validate proposed models of pharmacoresistant epilepsy and/or antiepileptogenic models for use in drug recovery. It will establish baseline data and introduce new methods for evaluating the therapeutic potential of novel compounds for epilepsy treatment.

Potential areas of research interest include studies to: test validation of proposed models for pharmacoresistance and/or antiepileptogenesis; identify therapies that can modify the progression of disease leading to chronic epilepsy; validate models that incorporate processes involved in epileptogenesis as potential research tools; develop antiepileptogenic or intervention models that allow the measurement of a block or delay in development of chronic epilepsy in adult or pediatric populations; and develop alternative models that may increase the range of anticonvulsant treatments identified and may more closely reflect the course of resistance and epileptogenesis.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: November 21, 2003.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Captain James Stables, Program Director, Technology Development Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2106, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1846; fax: 301-402-2157; e-mail: js131e@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this request for applications, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-04-002.html.

Applications to Develop New Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes and Its Complications Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) requests Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) applications to develop new approaches to prevent, treat, and cure type 1 diabetes and its complications. This announcement is made together with 6 other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).*

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas and affects an estimated one million Americans, usually with onset in childhood or young adulthood. The disease markedly impairs quality of life and shortens lifespan primarily through premature cardiovascular death.

Potential areas of research interest include studies to: develop novel therapeutics, including beta cell replacement therapy, devices, biologics, and other drugs for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and its complications; develop methods to increase the yield of functional and successfully transplantable islets from pancreata including the development of alternative enzymatic approaches to isolate islets and methods to increase the duration for which a pancreas can be utilized; develop improved approaches to xenotransplantation as an unlimited source of islets that would reduce potential complications and enhance graft survival; apply basic research in regenerative medicine to preclinical or clinical treatment of type 1 diabetes and its complications; apply gene therapy strategies to prevent or reverse complications; develop methods for measuring or imaging the pancreatic beta cell mass or inflammation; develop methods for early detection, diagnosis, and quantification of cardiovascular disease; develop high throughput assays based on biologic pathways likely involved in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes complications or autoimmunity that could be used to screen molecular libraries for novel therapeutic agents; and develop novel animal models for investigating type 1 diabetes and its complications.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: February 19, 2004.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Paul Nichols, Program Director, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2108, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-9964; fax: 301-401-2060; e-mail: pn13w@nih.gov.

*For a full list of supporting NIH components and a more detailed description of this request for applications, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-03-020.html.

Applications for Research on Research Integrity Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) request grant applications for research on research integrity.*

This request for applications (RFA) seeks applications for research on the ways in which research integrity and efforts to promote responsible conduct in research directly or indirectly impact the research record, research institutions, and/or the benefits derived from biomedical and behavioral research.

Areas of potential research interest include studies to: define and assess the prevalence of research practices that depart from rules, regulations, guidelines, and commonly accepted norms for responsible conduct in research; develop and test ways to assess the reliability of the research record, including not only final publications but grant applications and professional statements; investigate how collaborative research is organized and its impact on research integrity, with particular interest in clinical research; define and assess the influence of international collaboration on responsible research practices and the research record; study the challenges for responsible conduct presented in high-profile collaborative and international research, e.g., AIDS and other major disease/health programs; develop and assess the effectiveness of different ways to promote responsible conduct in research; provide a comprehensive assessment (content and cost) of specific efforts to foster responsible conduct in research; clarify and assess the importance of environmental elements that influence integrity in research; provide a comprehensive assessment (cost and elements) of specific institutional efforts to promote integrity in research; and develop and test assessment tools for institutions and laboratories to measure specific aspects of responsible research and research integrity.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: November 14, 2003.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Mary Ellen Michel, Program Director, Repair and Plasticity Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2209, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1447; fax: 301-480-1080; e-mail: mm108w@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this request for applications, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-04-001.html

Research on Therapeutic Opportunities in Progressive Spinal Cord Injury Requested

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) requests grant applications for basic studies to define therapeutic opportunities in progressive spinal cord injury (SCI).*

A quarter of a million Americans are living with functional disabilities due to chronic SCI, and each year more than 10,000 new cases of SCI occur in the U.S. Traumatic SCI occurs suddenly, but the physiological and functional changes initiated by the injury progress with time. This request for applications (RFA) seeks SCI research in 3 areas: 1) the potential for repair and the mechanisms that underlie recovery induced by neuroprotection or repair strategies in animal models; 2) the acute, subacute, or chronic stages after SCI that influence cell survival, regeneration, sprouting, and/or recovery of function; and 3) the targeting of therapeutic strategies in animal models to specific clinically relevant stages and types of SCI, based on known pathophysiological processes and anatomical or functional/clinical outcomes.

Areas of potential research interest include: characterization of the mechanism(s) of action of promising therapeutic strategies to determine if the treatment outcome is based on protection, regeneration, impact on circuits outside the lesion area, or other mechanisms; studies to define the progression of therapeutic windows of opportunity following SCI by characterizing pathophysiological processes in animal models as they relate to behavioral outcomes and associated clinical outcomes; studies to determine effective time of administration of a repair strategy, based on known mechanism(s) of action; experimental protocols that incrementally test components of complex therapies to establish their critical contribution to functional recovery in appropriate animal models and stages of injury; utilization of tracing, imaging, or other technologies to detect the long-term fate of implanted cells, their migration, and functional status following implantation into sites in or near regions of SCI; strategies to alter pathophysiological responses to injury in order to prolong or reinstate a window of opportunity for effective repair of the spinal cord; and studies to define progressive changes in barriers to regeneration, and to show under what circumstances targeted strategies that alter these processes can improve outcomes.

APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: December 23, 2003.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Naomi Kleitman, Program Director, Repair and Plasticity Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2204, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1447; fax: 301-480-1080; e-mail: nk85q@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this request for applications, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-04-004.html

Patients with Cortical Basal Ganglionic Degeneration Sought

Scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) studying neurobehavior seek patients with cortical basal ganglionic degeneration for cognitive neuroscience studies.

Eligible patients should be mild to moderately affected, between the ages of 18 and 70, and have no other current significant disease. Those enrolled in the study will undergo neuropsychological testing and brain imaging studies. The studies will be conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. All study-related expenses will be paid by the NIH.

For more information, physicians should contact Dr. Jordan Grafman, Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Section, NINDS, Building 10, Room 5C205, 10 Center Drive MSC 1440; Bethesda, MD 20892-1440; telephone: 301-496-0220; fax: 301-480-2909; e-mail: jg40b@nih.gov.

NINDS Seeks Adults with Focal Frontal Lesions

Scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) seek adults with frontal lobe lesions for a longitudinal, prospective study of cognitive function.

To be eligible, patients must be between the ages of 16 and 70 and have a single focal lesion of the frontal lobes. Some of the possible causes of such frontal lesions include: brain abscess, embolic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, tumor, partial surgical resection, arteriovenous malformation, congenital hypoplasia, aplasia porencephalic cysts, and penetrating head injuries. Patients will not be eligible if they have ongoing, severe medical illness or other problems precluding successful serial follow-up. A partial list of exclusion criteria includes history of: generalized or multifocal brain injury, mental retardation, precocious puberty, severe closed head trauma, elevated intracranial pressure, radiation therapy, intractable epilepsy, neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage, congenital hydrocephalus from any cause, or the presence of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

Studies to be done at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, include magnetic resonance imaging, neurologic examination and history, and cognitive testing. Records of all studies and evaluations will be made available to the referring physician. All study-related expenses and certain travel expenses will be paid by the NIH.

For more information, physicians should contact Dr. Jordan Grafman, Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Section, NINDS, NIH, Building 10, Room 5C205, 10 Center Drive MSC 1440, Bethesda, MD 20892-1440; telephone: 301-496-0220; fax: 301-480-2909; e-mail: jg40b@nih.gov.

Patients with Frontal Lobe Dementia Needed

Investigators at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducting neurobehavioral studies seek patients with progressive dementia diagnosed as Pick's disease, frontal lobe dementia, progressive aphasia, or lobar atrophy of the frontal lobes. Patients with radiological evidence of focal atrophy of the frontal lobes are particularly needed.

Eligible patients must not have concurrent immune, respiratory, renal, hepatic, or gastrointestinal disease. Those enrolled in the study will undergo neuropsychological testing and brain imaging studies. The studies will be conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. All study-related expenses will be paid by the NIH.

For more information, physicians should contact Dr. Jordan Grafman, Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Section, NINDS, NIH, Building 10, Room 5C205, 10 Center Drive MSC 1440, Bethesda, MD 20892-1440; telephone: 301-496-0220; fax: 301-480-2909; e-mail: jg40b@nih.gov.

Persons with Gaucher Disease Type III Sought for Study

Investigators at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) are conducting a research study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an experimental drug, called OGT 918, and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) compared to ERT alone in the treatment of Gaucher disease type III. Scientists hope OGT 918 will improve the neurological symptoms of the disease.

Eligible participants must be over 4 years of age and able to swallow capsules, and must have been receiving stable ERT for at least 6 months. Persons who are under 4 years of age, have type I or type II Gaucher disease, or are pregnant or breastfeeding are not eligible.

The study will take place at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. All study-related expenses will be paid by the NIH. This study is carried out in compliance with safety and testing standards of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For more information, contact Dr. Raphael Schiffmann or Val Robinson, R.N., NINDS, NIH, Building 10, Room 3D03, 10 Center Drive MSC 1260, Bethesda, MD 20892-1260, telephone: 301-496-1465 or 1-800-258-0299 (toll-free); fax: 301-480-8354.

People with Seizures Sought for Studies

Scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) seek people age 5 and older with seizures for participation in research studies. The scientists are testing a non-invasive procedure called transcranial magnetic stimulation for seizure treatment, and are studying brain mapping with positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Younger children with new-onset seizures may be eligible for some studies. The studies may last several months, with an inpatient stay of up to two weeks, and 10-15 outpatient visits of about an hour each. Screening will determine eligibility. People with medical problems that require treatment in addition to seizures may be excluded.

The studies will take place at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. All study-related expenses will be paid by the NIH. There is no cost for participation or for any tests associated with the research. The studies are carried out in compliance with testing and safety standards of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For more information, physicians should contact Ingrid Caldwell, Patient Care Coordinator, at 301-496-1923, or Dr. William Theodore, Chief, Clinical Epilepsy Section, NINDS, NIH, Building 10, Room 5C205, 10 Center Drive MSC 1408, Bethesda, MD 20892-1408; telephone: 301-496-1505; fax: 301-402-2871.

Patients with Urbach-Wiethe Disease Sought

Scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) studying neurobehavior seek patients with Urbach-Wiethe disease. Patients enrolled in the study will undergo neuropsychological testing and brain imaging studies.

The study will be conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. All study-related expenses will be paid by the NIH.

For more information, physicians should contact Dr. Jordan Grafman, Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Section, NINDS, NIH, Building 10, Room 5C205, 10 Center Drive MSC 1440, Bethesda, MD 20892-1440; telephone: 301-496-0220; fax: 301-480-2909; e-mail: jg40b@nih.gov.