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Genetics and MND

Genetics and MND

Reading Time: 5 minutes This is blog number two in our ‘Symposium Blogathon’ – counting down to the 32nd International Symposium on ALS/MND. Numbers in bold green text correspond to the code in the abstract book. Click on the number to be redirected to the full abstract (the page may take a minute to load). Approximately 10% of people…

Should routine genetic testing be considered for all cases of MND?

Should routine genetic testing be considered for all cases of MND?

Reading Time: 9 minutes A paper arising from research carried out at the University of Sheffield as part of the AMBRoSIA biobank, and in collaboration with the international Project MinE gene-hunting consortium, was recently published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Researchers propose that a test for the most common MND genes could be offered to all…

Does the glymphatic system play a role in MND?

Does the glymphatic system play a role in MND?

Reading Time: 3 minutes At last year’s International Symposium on ALS/MND in Perth, Australia, Professor Jeffrey Iliff talked about the glymphatic system (C1 in abstract book) – a series of ‘tunnels’ containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that distributes nutrients and removes waste from the central nervous system. Prof. Iliff’s team demonstrated that the glymphatic system fails both in the ageing…

Studentship success – next steps for Matthew Nolan

Studentship success – next steps for Matthew Nolan

Reading Time: 5 minutes Guest researcher blog post written by Matthew Nolan. My name is Matthew, I’m currently a post-doctoral researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the USA, supported by a Cullen Education and Research Young Investigator Award. Last year I finished my MND Association-funded PhD at the University of Oxford, where I was supervised by…

Toxicity of cerebrospinal fluid in ALS/MND
Graphical abstract showing that exposing cells grown in a laboratory dish to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from ALS patients is toxic to the cells.

Toxicity of cerebrospinal fluid in ALS/MND

Reading Time: 4 minutes A systematic review of existing scientific literature, performed by a team of researchers led by Dr Arpan Mehta, MRC/MND Association Lady Edith Wolfson Clinical Fellow based at the Euan MacDonald Centre, University of Edinburgh, supports the view that cerebrospinal fluid obtained from patients with ALS/MND is toxic to cells.  This finding could help to establish…