Art Auction for Lafora Research

The art students and faculty at Highland Park High School are organizing an art auction to raise money for Lafora Research. More information on the disease can be found at http://www.chelseashope.org/what_is_lafora.html. Funds from this ongoing auction are sent periodically to Chelsea's Hope foundation and will be forwarded to the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Sciences Development where Lafora research is performed by a group led by Dr. Antonio V. Delgado-Escueta, Professor of Neurology at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Lafora is a fatal, incurable, very rare genetic disease that strikes seemingly healthy children in their adolescent years. It causes seizures, muscle spasms, difficulty walking, dementia, and eventually death. Lafora is little known even among neurologists, and thus often misdiagnosed. It is very likely that the actual number of children affected by this horrible disease is much larger than currently estimated.

Because of its rarity, research interest and funding are very low. This makes every little contribution very important. Please read more about Lafora so you will understand the gravity of this disease. Through your support, the Art students at Highland Park High School would like to raise the public awareness and to hopefully make a difference in the research towards a cure.

Why Lafora?
The attention on Lafora was unfortunately brought up by a former HPHS student. Her situation was typical: it took seven years to diagnose her condition correctly, and modern medicine cannot offer an effective treatment.
 

How to participate:

Check the web page of the auction (http://sites.google.com/site/artauctionforlafora/home/current-art-pieces) to select the art pieces that you are interested in. The steps to participate in the auction are detailed on the home page https://sites.google.com/site/artauctionforlafora/. The auction has monthly bid periods and will continue throughout the year. Current bid period ends on February 28, 2010.