The National Football League (NFL) has pledged $500,000 to an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) study of athletes, veterans and first responders, whose reported risks differ across existing research.
Answer ALS said Oct. 20 that the commitment to Champion Insights had been announced Oct. 5. The organization and Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS lead the project, which began active research operations Feb. 4.
The study aims to enroll up to 500 people. It plans to collect blood samples at home and use surveys to document lifestyle and environmental exposures; researchers will also examine genetic factors. The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) oversees the research.
ALS is a progressive disease affecting the nerve cells that control voluntary movement and breathing. The causes of most cases remain unclear. Champion Insights is investigating possible factors behind the risk patterns reported in the groups it studies.
A 2021 JAMA Network Open study identified 38 ALS diagnoses among 19,423 NFL players who had played at least one professional game. Researchers calculated a standardized incidence ratio of 3.59 against U.S. male population rates, taking age and race into account. The association does not establish that playing football caused the disease.
A 2023 review of research on military service and ALS reported a pooled odds ratio of 1.29. That estimate draws on a different population and uses a different measure from the NFL study.
The World Trade Center Health Program Science Team reviewed firefighter evidence in a 2024 assessment. It said an elevated ALS mortality finding from a death-certificate study had not been replicated in other occupational studies. The team also noted limits including reliance on occupations listed on death certificates and a lack of population denominator data.
Champion Insights builds on ALS TDI’s earlier ALS Research Collaborative. Participants receive no treatment or medical advice through the study. “I do not spend time on speculation. I spend it asking why,” said Answer ALS founder Steve Gleason, a former NFL player and the study’s first participant.
Enrollment is open. ALS TDI says preliminary findings could emerge during the study’s first year.
