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: 7 minutes Each year at the Symposium, there is a huge amount of research presented on a range of topics from across the globe. With the Symposium returning to an in-person event this year, we are keen to increase the number of updates we share for those not able to attend, including people living with and affected by MND.
To help us do this, we have launched a new Symposium Communications Ambassador Programme so we can bring more of the research from the Symposium to non-scientific audiences. This programme was open for applications from early career researchers working in MND, who were interested in helping us shine a light on MND research happening across the world. This year we have 5 early career researchers taking part in the Programme, who will gain experience and new skills in communicating research to different audiences. Before, during and after the Symposium our Ambassador’s will be helping us to share the latest research with the MND community.
Reading Time: 7 minutes Each year we invite plenary speakers who are experts in their fields to provide an overview on topics across MND research and clinical practice. This year we have 14 plenary speakers talking about ALS/MND who will discuss a wide range of topics from genetics to tissue biomarkers to improving clinical practice. In this second blog we will be taking a closer look at some of our plenary speakers this year and sharing more about the topics they will be discussing.
Reading Time: 4 minutes My name is Dr Hannah Smith, and I’m a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh. My project is supervised by Professor Tom Gillingwater, and my work is funded by MND Scotland. My current research focuses on comparing healthy motor neurons and those with MND/ALS, specifically focusing on early changes to the cellular machinery and how the motor neurons produce the proteins they need to function. I’ll discuss the specifics of that, and why we are interested in finding out this information, in the next section.
Reading Time: 6 minutes On the 8 September 2023, members of the Research Development team at the MND Association attended the 4th UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre International Symposium. Leading international researchers were invited to speak about key areas of MND research, with a focus on translational research. We listened to talks on early laboratory research and…
Reading Time: 6 minutes MND is a very complex disease and collaboration within the research community is key to building on our current understanding of the disease biology and finding effective treatments. The MND Association recognises the importance of expanding the dedicated MND research workforce, as well as supporting those who are already working in the field. To fund…
Reading Time: 6 minutes QurAlis, a biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for MND and other neurodegenerative diseases, has announced the opening of a clinical trial in the UK. This trial of a gene therapy, called QRL-201, is a phase 1 trial in people with MND and will test the therapy to determine whether it is safe and…
Reading Time: 12 minutes Despite decades of research, we still do not fully understand why some people get MND, but studies in cell and animal models of the disease suggest that astrocytes and microglia cells are key players in the process, and a potential target for new therapies to moderate oxidative stress, reduce mitochondrial damage, and limit glutamate excitotoxicity…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Clinical trials are vital in the hunt for effective treatments of motor neurone disease. They provide the evidence needed to determine whether a drug is safe and effective. In trials, participants are randomly assigned to receive either the treatment or a dummy drug, also known as a placebo. While this group is crucially important in…
