Reading Time: 3 minutes Years ago, it was believed that it was only the motor neurones, the long nerve cells that carry messages from the brain to the muscles via the spinal cord, that were affected by motor neurone disease. However, over the last 10-15 years we have learnt about the vital contribution of other cell types collectively called…
Reading Time: 3 minutes A study conducted by researchers at the Euan MacDonald Centre at the University of Edinburgh has shed light on how improving the function of mitochondria – the power supply of nerve cells – could be a potential treatment for motor neurone disease, paper published this week in the journal, Acta Neuropathologica (2021). This study paves…
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…
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…
Reading Time: 2 minutes We are delighted to announce that Dr Arpan Mehta has been appointed as our latest Lady Edith Wolfson Fellow, jointly funded by the MND Association and Medical Research Council. This clinical research training fellowship will help to launch his career as an aspiring academic neurologist, providing comprehensive training in cellular, molecular and bioinformatics technologies in…
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…
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dr Pietro Fratta completed his first MRC-MND Association Clinical Research Training Fellowship in 2014. Last year he was awarded a new £1.16 million Clinician Scientist Fellowship to continue his research at University College London, studying the earliest physical changes that affect motor neurons in MND (our reference 946-795). Our contribution to this four year research…
Reading Time: 2 minutes Biomarkers in Oxford (BioMOx) is a research project with the aim of identifying a diagnostic biomarker for MND, which could be used to track the progression of this condition. What are biomarkers? The aim is to identify biomarkers, or ‘biological fingerprints’ for MND. This could be through testing blood and spinal fluid (CSF) samples from…
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you looked at the motor neurones of people with MND down the microscope you would see clumps of a protein called TDP-43. Researchers around the world are working to find why these clumps form and how they are linked to MND. Dr Jemeen Sreedharan has been looking at the effects of TDP-43 in fruit…
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…
