SALISBURY POST
MS FROM 1A MURDOCK stands for Measurement to Understand the Reclassification of Disease Of Cabarrus/Kannapolis. North and South Carolina researchers will conduct genetic studies using the MS samples to better understand the disease at the molecular level. Currently, MS has no cure and is diagnosed by ruling out other ailments. The MS samples will form a cohort, or special area of concentration within the MURDOCK Study. Patients will not receive any intervention. “This is not a drug study,� said Dr. Russ Bodner, who treats about 100 patients with MS at NorthEast Neurology in Concord. “We are not testing to see if something works or doesn't work.�
ALCOA FROM 1A a special agent with her office’s lobbying compliance division, as lead investigator. Marshall’s office could not confirm those statements. In an interview Wednesday, Jones said he had not been notified of an official investigation, but he knows about the request and disagrees with its claims. “I’m no lobbyist,� Jones said. “I’m a private individual, and I have no reason to register with the secretary of state.� In their request, Bingham and Naujoks said Jones may have violated lobbying laws by receiving payment for services while representing Alcoa in the General Assembly, having spent more than 5 percent of his time in a 30-day period lobbying for Alcoa, having failed to file a registration statement or fee and having failed to file any quarterly expense report. Bingham and Naujoks contend that an October transfer of 2.5 acres of “waterfront property� from Alcoa to Jones amounts to payment for lobbying efforts. They also question whether taxes were paid when the property was conveyed. Jones said in an interview this past week that the property was not payment but actually a trade that had nothing to do with the High Rock Lake Association’s activities. The press release from Bingham and Naujoks disagreed. “This at the very least gives the appearance of a conflict of interest for Larry Jones and his leadership position at HRLA,� it read. Jones has owned a farm by the lake since 1994, he said.
SUNDAY, MAY 16, 2010 • 5A
CONTINUED Researchers and physicians like Bodner who are collaborating on the cohort will follow the MS enrollees over time to see how their disease progresses. “We will treat them as we would otherwise treat them and essentially look at how things move along,� he said. By working with clinicians like Bodner, research scientists will have a more complete picture of the disease, including environmental factors, said Dr. Simon Gregory, a Duke University scientist who serves as lead investigator for the cohort and has a lab at the Research Campus in Kannapolis. Gregory, Bodner and others have submitted a $650,000 proposal to the National MS Society that, if funded, would form the first official MS consortium in North Carolina. Called the Carolinas Longitudinal MS Study, the proposed consortium would bring together investigators with significant experience in treating or researching the disease.
His land is surrounded by Alcoa property, which runs along the perimeter of the lake up to 5 feet above the high water level. “Some of the roads around the farm cross over some Alcoa property where the creeks run into the lake and the land is low, so it gets below that 5foot contour,� Jones said. “Alcoa put forth the offer that they would deed me the land where my roads crossed their land ... if I would give up my agricultural rights on their property.� Jones’ deed to the farm property included an easement that gave him agricultural rights to about 30 acres of Alcoa’s surrounding land. Those rights are what Jones says he traded to the company for his roads in an equal “no-value� transaction, for which no taxes had to be paid. “I’ll be paying property taxes on that, but there was no recording tax required on this transaction,� he said. He said he told HRLA board members about the land trade when it was first brought up, and they didn’t consider it a conflict of interest. The Yadkin Riverkeeper’s press release also states that Jones and the HLRA first seemed to oppose Alcoa’s efforts to renew its license to operate the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project because of environmental concerns. Then, Jones actively supported the company in opposing Senate Bill 967 — legislation that would establish a Yadkin River Trust to control the project. The bill was approved in the state House but defeated in a Senate committee in July 2009. “When this whole thing began, Larry Jones was on one side of the fence — we were against Alcoa,� Bingham said
Millbridge Elementary PTA’s 4th Annual Golf Tournament was held Saturday, May 8, 2010. 133 players participated, and over $10,000 was raised. We’d like to thank all of our sponsors, players and volunteers for making it another huge success.
The funding would pay to investigate whether signatures of MS progression can be found in body fluids of people with the disease, which rapidly debilitates some patients and has little effect in others. “They are trying to unlock the progression question,� said Dr. Ashley Dunham, community project leader for the MURDOCK Study. Researchers will use MS samples for both parts of the genetic study, comparing rapid progressors to those whose disease has progressed slowly or even not at all. “This helps them lean closer to a cure and the ability to diagnose people and tell them what their disease is going to be like on the front-end,� Dunham said. “Just having that knowledge upfront would be huge.� Researchers want to understand the mechanism that causes the disease, Gregory said. “Then we can start figuring out how to rectify the genomic situation,� he said. Gregory has been developing
in an interview Thursday. “All of a sudden, Larry comes to speak to the Senate committee concerning this relicensing agreement, and he had changed his position. It just puzzled me.� Jones said his apparent change in opinion was the result of five years of negotiations among the High Rock Lake Association, Alcoa and about 40 other stakeholders
methods to identify genes responsible for complex disorders like MS and turning off the culprit genes. Gene therapy, or inserting genes into cells, “promised a lot but delivered very little,� Simon said. Instead, researchers are focused on manipulating pathways, or how genes interact, to change the course of MS. “Can we step in at a certain point and provide a more of a particular protein?� he said. Most MURDOCK Study enrollment sites are located in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County. But Duke will open three new sites to target people with MS, including NorthEast Neurology in Concord, the Multiple Sclerosis Center in Charlotte and Neuroscience Associates in Greenville, S.C. MS patients who are already in clinical trials can still enroll in the study’s registry, Dunham said. Duke is one of eight N.C. universities with a presence at the Research Campus, a life sciences com-
in the relicensing process. He said the HRLA and other groups argued strongly for more stable water levels, less drawdown and better environmental protections. A relicensing settlement agreement was reached in December of 2006, and the HRLA was one of the signatories. “We never opposed Alcoa receiving the license,� Jones said. “We just wanted to be
plex in downtown Kannapolis where scientists study health, nutrition and agriculture. “This is a unique opportunity. We’ve got a strong MS society, we’ve got Simon (Gregory), we’ve got the Core Lab, we’ve got local engaged collaborators,� Dunham said. “This is an exciting project for us.� Other than adults with MS, only people who are 100 years or older may enroll in the MURDOCK Study if they live outside of Kannapolis or Cabarrus County. To enroll, adults with MS should call the study at 877-673-2508 or go to www.murdock-study.com. The National MS Society announced a partnership last year with the Research Campus to find a cure for multiple sclerosis. Charlotte businessman and theater mogul Herman Stone pledged $1 million to a campaign called “On the Shoulders of Giants� that aims to raise $5.2 million for MS research, including funds to support Gregory’s work at the Research Campus.
sure that the new license contained terms that would be favorable for High Rock Lake, and we achieved that.� Because those favorable terms had been reached, the HRLA then opposed the creation of a state-owned land trust to control the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. Jones stated the group’s case before the House Committee on Water Resources and Infrastruc-
ture. Jones said the request and press release are a “total mischaracterization� and are meant to discredit him and the group he leads. For his part, Bingham said he simply wants the truth to be uncovered. “We wanted someone to look into this,� he said, “because it certainly didn’t look good.�
Janet and Keith Carroll Salisbury, NC
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