JERRY LEWIS TELETHON SET FOR LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

Each September, the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon brings top names from the entertainment world to tens of millions of viewers. The initial show, which was first broadcast in 1966, has prompted an outpouring of generous support from the public.

The 21 1/2-hour telethon, to be broadcast Sept. 2 and 3, is MDA's single largest fund-raising event.

Exciting advances in gene therapy and adult-tissue stem-cell research, as well as vital services for people with neuromuscular diseases, will be highlighted during the telethon.

Telethon donations help educate professionals as well as the public, about neuromuscular diseases.

In addition to the toll-free information hotline (800-572-1717), the Association's Web site (www.mdausa.org) offers thousands of pages of specific information and an "Ask the Experts" feature staffed by more than 150 of the world's leading physicians and scientists.

This year, MDA added a Web site devoted to ALS. (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-Lou Gehrig's disease) It is www.als.mdausa.org