Reading Time: 4 minutes Researchers at King’s College London led by Professor Christopher Shaw, are the first in Europe to embark on a clinical trial targeting a specific genetic form of ALS caused by mutations in the fused in sarcoma (FUS) gene. What is FUS-ALS? Mutations in FUS were first linked to ALS in 2009 by research led by…
Reading Time: 5 minutes “The search for new drugs to help MND patients is a long and challenging one, but it is one where we are beginning to see hope for the future emerging on several fronts. New Artificial Intelligence (AI) data analysis techniques and larger, more detailed collections of patient data have been pivotal in these advances.” Dr…
Reading Time: 4 minutes This is the second in a series of three blog articles from Session 7 – Perspectives: Lessons from COVID-19 in which we heard from different speakers about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their own experiences of clinical trials, research, and support within the MND community. A further blog, written by Bruce Virgo who is…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Guest researcher blog post written by Darija Šoltić. Originally from Croatia, I came to the UK to do my PhD in neuroscience, where I worked on spinal muscular atrophy, a debilitating childhood motor neuron disease (MND). Earlier this year, I joined the Ruepp group (led by Dr Marc-David Ruepp) at the UK Dementia Research Institute…
Reading Time: 2 minutes This article was written by Dr Keith Mayl and Dr Ahmad Al Khleifat of King’s College London. Researchers at King’s College Hospital, led by Professor Christopher Shaw, have embarked on the first gene therapy clinical trial for patients affected by a specific genetic form of ALS, the most common type of MND. ALS is a…
Reading Time: 4 minutes Each year, the MND Association dedicates the month of June to raising MND awareness. This year, we focus on the eyes – in most people with MND the only part of their body they can still move and the only way left for them to communicate. Alongside the Association-wide campaign, the Research Development team selected…
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new research paper has been published today in the Science Translational Medicine journal, describing a new gene implicated in developing MND. What is this gene and why is it important for our fight against MND? Although they are not the sole cause of MND, genes play a big role in someone’s probability of developing the…
Reading Time: 3 minutes In light of the upcoming Biomedical Research Advisory Panel meeting happening on Friday 7 April that will discuss which new research projects the MND Association will fund, we are pleased to report on the progress of one of our already-funded researchers. In their three year project, funded by the MND Association, Prof Annalisa Pastore (King’s College London)…
Reading Time: 4 minutes Brain banks are a vital resource in MND research. The MRC London Neurodegenerative Diseases Brain Bank was established in 1989. It is part of King’s College London and King’s College Hospital, and is part-funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). After 18 months of planning, the bank has recently relocated into a bright terracotta building, fit…
Reading Time: 2 minutes During Awareness month in June we reported on the work of Dr James Bashford at King’s College London, exploring new ways of measuring muscle fasciculations in people with MND. The results from the one year pilot study have shown a lot of promise, which has led to Dr Bashford recently being awarded a Clinical Research…
