Founded in 1992 by Guy Alba, ELA is an association of families willing to move mountains to defeat leukodystrophies. Thanks to its dynamism and determination, ELA is now present in seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland.
“You have to stand up to this disease, fight it, try to eliminate it, defeat it. It’s not easy, because everyday life is difficult, but you have to believe that one day it will all come to an end. Even if it’s hard for the families, we have to keep hoping. As for me, I’ll always be there for ELA.”
Zinédine Zidane, honorary member of ELA
For 25 years, Zinédine Zidane has supported ELA’s fight. Throughout all these years, he has used his fame to raise awareness about leukodystrophies and has been the voice of families on every playing field.
Thanks to your generosity during the 2024 edition of ‘Watches for ELA’, ELA organised respite breaks for European families and launched a call for projects to support medical research.
• Support for families: respite care
Families were invited to relaxing holidays where they could enjoy each other’s company and recharge their batteries to continue the daily battle against the disease.
Over 1,200 people have benefited from these respite weekends.
• Research support: exceptional funding
Thanks to the results of the first sale, ELA International is committing an additional €500,000 to fund a research programme on Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD). The ELA International Scientific Council will meet in March 2026 to select the best research project.
