Johns Hopkins Medicine

The Peripheral Nerve Center at Johns Hopkins has assembled a group of specialists that provide expertise in most nerve disorders, including diagnosis and both medical and surgical treatments. The Center was founded to provide the highest quality care for peripheral nerve diseases, including surgical options, and to generate new understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of nerve diseases through research. The goals of the Peripheral Nerve Center at Johns Hopkins University are to develop new therapies that will reverse peripheral neuropathies by preventing axonal degeneration and restoring function to patients with sensory neuropathies; develop novel diagnostic strategies, or biomarkers, to more accurately and sensitively diagnose, track and monitor therapy for sensory neuropathies; a special emphasis on identifying underlying etiologies of painful peripheral neuropathies that are largely classified as "idiopathic"; and provide a collaborative training environment for neuroscientists committed to neuropathy research to facilitate care development and skill acquisition.

To these ends, the Foundation has dedicated funds to assist the Center with the expansion of a variety of initiatives. In order to speed the pace at which clinical trials may be conducted, the Foundation has promised funds to develop dedicated clinical trial infrastructure specific for peripheral neuropathy research. The foundation has supported the screening and animal modeling of existing drugs for treatment of peripheral neuropathy and the regeneration of lost nerve cells, and the examination of the role of supporting cell changes in chronic peripheral neuropathies. Based on the research results, additional funding has been provided to Johns Hopkins to continue their research on the four compounds identified in their initial studies.

To contact the Peripheral Nerve Center at Johns Hopkins visit their website at  http://www.hopkinsneuro.org/peripheral_nerve

 

FPN Peripheral Neuropathy Research Registry

Collaborative efforts between our partners and other institutions help us work toward a greater understanding of the cause and progression of PN.  The Foundation is proud to provide the financial investments required to lead new medical innovations into the future. In addtion to other funding provided to Johns Hopkins, The Foundation has awarded a grant for them to participate in FPN's groundbreaking new patient registry for people with painful and non-painful neuropathies.

Learn more about the Peripheral Neuropathy Research Registry.

 

  Ben – His Summer in the Lab

Medical research has led to the development of treatments and cures for disorders that only a century ago were considered incurable. From an outside perspective, medicine seems to have an almost magical quality. From the inside, however, research is an in-depth and time consuming process and breakthroughs can take decades to come to fruition. Thanks to an internship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, one undergraduate student has been able to experience research from all angles.

Ben Cocanougher, now a senior at Centre College in Kentucky, spent his first summer there working at the Center for Courageous Kids, a camp for children with life-threatening and life-altering illnesses. Cocanougher worked firsthand with children and families affected by multiple types of neuromuscular disorders. This experience allowed him to connect with patients and families who struggle to make sense of something they don’t understand and can’t control. When asked about the experience, Cocanougher stated that he “met many families that have expressed frustration wondering, if you throw enough money into research, why isn’t there a cure?” Having experienced both the frustrations of families and the day-to-day work of researchers, Cocanougher has gained a greater perspective on the process and progress of science.

This past summer, Ben was selected as a summer research intern at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a renowned research institution that has been directly involved in many of the breakthroughs of modern medicine. Cocanougher chose to work in the Department of Neurology due to his previous experience with children affected by neurological disorders. After completing the internship, Ben has a greater appreciation for the amount of time and resources that are required to conduct a proper experiment. Though treatments and cures are in development for some of the most debilitating conditions it takes more than a few months to make them available to patients in need. In fact, the process typically takes several years.

Under the direction of Dr. Ahmet Hoke, Director of the Neuromuscular Division at Johns Hopkins and one of the Foundation’s research partners, and his team, Ben worked on peripheral neuropathies (PN) associated with diabetes and chemotherapy-induced PN (CIPN) caused by Taxol, a common drug used to treat breast and ovarian cancer. He expressed how this journey into basic research has brought him much closer to the clinical aspect of science and how it’s applicable to helping patients.

The Johns Hopkins study has been ongoing for four years. In order to participate in the research, Ben learned how to work with mice and rats involved in animal studies and all of the steps needed to keep the research moving forward.  When asked about his experience, Cocanougher stated, “It’s very rewarding to have the opportunity to see the project through from start to finish.”

The research is focused on the neurobiology of peripheral neuropathies and the development and regeneration of the peripheral nervous system.  In this stage of the study, Ben worked on many scientific activities that included genotyping, cutting and staining tissues, and developing a mouse model of PN for researchers to test later in the year.  One part of the study tests the mice for Peripheral Neuropathy using motor and sensory testing in a process very similar to the EMG testing used on human patients.

Learning about the physical biology of nerves has proven gratifying to Ben. As encouragement to others who might consider neurological research as a career option, he says, “It’s an exciting field to pursue. The science is progressing daily and the work is very applicable clinically, as it affects a significant number of patients.” More than 20 million Americans suffer the effects of neuropathy from many causes, and more young investigators are needed in the field to develop new treatments and cures.

As for Ben, he is back at Centre College. After completing his undergraduate degree, he plans to pursue his dream of becoming a Pediatric Neurologist and has already started the process of applying to medical schools. Now he is confident that he also wants to stay involved in research. Like the neurologists he worked with at Johns Hopkins – he wants to do it all. Best of luck to you, Ben!