Reading Time: 7 minutes Researchers from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh have developed a new tool that could help to detect signs of MND in cells before symptoms of the disease start. This work was recently published and was previously presented at the 34th International Symposium in Basel by Dr Jenna Gregory. The new tool…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hi, I’m Ben, a researcher working at Sheffield University. I attended last year’s International Symposium on ALS/MND as one of the Symposium Communication Ambassadors and this is one of the most interesting pieces of work I saw. MND is an incredibly complex disease, with many factors contributing to the death of motor neurons. The way…
Reading Time: 4 minutes I’m Hannah, a PhD student from the University of Nottingham, and a Communications Ambassador for the 34th International Symposium on ALS/MND that took place in December 2023. In this blog post I will be sharing the key messages of a talk at the symposium by Dr Sandra Banack. Dr Banack is a Senior Scientist at…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Each year the 11th of February sees the world recognise and celebrate the contributions of women in science. The International day of Women and Girls in science was established by the United Nations to promote gender equality and encourage more women and girls across the world to aim to build a career in science. It…
Reading Time: 9 minutes Research into genetic causes of MND has greatly increased over the last few decades and gene changes have since been found to play a role in both inherited and non-inherited (sporadic) forms of the disease. Since the discovery of the first gene change in MND around 30 years ago, researchers have found over 40 gene…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Last month we held the 34th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Basel Switzerland. This huge event allows people from across the world to come and find out what research is currently ongoing. Within this 3-day event, we heard from researchers at all stages of their career talk about what projects they have been involved in…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Each year we host the International Symposium on ALS/MND in December and this is the largest medical and scientific conference specific to MND. The 34th Symposium was held in Basel, Switzerland from the 6th to 8th December and over 1300 people attended from over 48 different countries to share the latest MND research updates, connect…
Reading Time: 4 minutes After 3 years of online events, the MND research and healthcare community reunited in-person at the 34th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Basel, Switzerland! From 6 – 8 December 2023, we welcomed back over 1300 delegates, including researchers, health and social care professionals and people living with and affected by MND, becoming one of our…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Every year, the team works hard to build on the previous year’s success. This year we are excited to include a series of three ALS-FTD joint sessions, in collaboration with the International Society for Frontotemporal Dementias, in the programme. To give you a teaser of what is to come, we are taking a closer look at the plenary speakers in the ALS-FTD sessions at the Symposium. In this blog, we explore the topics they will be presenting and find out a little more about the speakers.
Reading Time: 5 minutes Every year, the team works hard to build on the previous year’s success. This year we are excited to include a series of three ALS-FTD joint sessions, in collaboration with the International Society for Frontotemporal Dementias, in the programme.
Some people with ALS, the most common form of MND, also develop a form of dementia known as frontotemporal dementia (FTD). FTD is a group of disorders where the nerve cells in two sets of lobes (frontal and temporal) in the brain are damaged. In a similar way to how motor neurones break down in MND and cause loss of function in muscles, the damage to the nerve cells in FTD causes the connections between parts of the brain to break down. As more cells become damaged and die this can lead to symptoms such as problems with memory, thinking or language, changes in mood, emotions and behaviour.
