Reading Time: 2 minutes Previous research in humans and zebrafish has shown that before symptoms arise in MND, early changes occur in the interneurones. This type of nerve cell provide a link between the upper and lower motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. The job of one type of interneurone (called inhibitory interneurones) is to apply the…
Reading Time: 2 minutes We know that neck weakness can be a difficult symptom to manage in people with MND, and that the current offering of neck collars and supports do not always suit everyone. In order to come up with a solution to this, we are funding Dr Chris McDermott from the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN)…
Reading Time: 2 minutes The MND Association funds several healthcare research projects that aim to improve care and symptom management for people living with MND. One such project is TONiC, which is examining factors that influence quality of life in patients with neurological conditions, including MND. So what is TONiC? The Trajectories of Outcome in Neurological Conditions (TONiC) study…
Reading Time: 2 minutes Some people with MND develop an increasingly recognised form of dementia, known as frontotemporal dementia or FTD (for more information visit http://www.ftdtalk.org/). The main symptoms of FTD include alterations in decision making, behaviour and difficulty with language. The relationship between MND and FTD is not well understood. Prof Julie Snowden and PhD student Jennie Saxon at…
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mistakes in the C9orf72 gene are the most common cause of inherited MND, and can be linked to about 40% of all cases. Now that we know that damage to the C9orf72 gene causes MND the next step is to understand how this mutation causes the motor neurones to die. In particular Dr Jakub Scaber…
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prior research has already shown that build-up of the protein TDP-43 is found in the majority of cases of MND (irrespective of whether it was caused by an inherited genetic mistake). In healthy nerve cells, TDP-43 is normally found in the cell nucleus (the management centre of the cell). But when we look at nerve…
Reading Time: 2 minutes During MND Awareness Month (1-30 June), we will be publishing a new post each day. Our ‘Project a Day’ series will celebrate the whole range of areas in which the MND Association funds research. Thanks to the generous donations of our supporters, we currently fund over 80 research projects, across five themes: Causes: These projects aim…
Reading Time: 4 minutes 332 delegates, 135 posters, 41 talks, one goal: to cure ALS The European Network for the Cure of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ENCALS) was set up to find a cure for ALS/MND by working collaboratively across 35 research centres (universities and hospitals) throughout Europe. The 14th meeting of ENCALS took place in Milan between 19-21 May…
Reading Time: 3 minutes To mark International Clinical Trials Day (20 May) we reflect on the ALS Clinical Trials Guidelines workshop that took place in March. The MND Association co-sponsored this successful meeting, held at Airlie House in Virginia USA. Approximately 140 delegates from across the world attended, including 11 MND researchers and doctors from the UK. Why was…
Reading Time: 3 minutes The results from a study looking at the possible links between exposure to environmental toxins (found in pesticides) and motor neurone disease (MND) was published yesterday (9 May) in the journal JAMA Neurology. A group of researchers from the University of Michigan, led by Dr Feng-Chiao Su and Dr Eva Feldman, have found that exposure…
