Reading Time: 5 minutes While we work hard for a cure, it is essential we support those living with MND now. Professor Chris McDermott, Professor of Translational Neurology at the University of Sheffield, trial co-lead Maintaining quality of life and supporting psychological well-being are critical for individuals living with MND. However, there has been very little research on how…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Increasing our understanding of MND, improving care and finding new potential treatments for the disease relies upon very talented and dedicated scientists working in MND research. To encourage the best and brightest minds to stay in the field and build a continuous stream of future leaders in MND, we need to make sure that scientists…
Reading Time: 6 minutes Please note that this blog talks about sensitive topics such as death and tissue donation throughout. Researchers use many different tools to increase our understanding of the underlying biology of the disease. These can be animal models of MND, biological samples from people with MND and brain tissue from people that have died from the…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Building relationships with key research institutes across the UK is vital in pushing research forward in the fight against MND. As of 31 December 2023, we are funding 109 research projects across 19 UK Universities and research institutes. The MND Association has a long-standing relationship with University College London (UCL) and its researchers. This relationship…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Despite extensive research, the causes of MND remain largely unknown. Recent investigations have begun to shed light on the gut microbiome and whether it may have a role in the development and progression of MND, offering potential new avenues for understanding and possibly treating the disease. The gut microbiome refers to the community of microorganisms,…
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: 4 minutes Hello everyone. My name is Genevieve (Gen) and I have joined the Association as Philanthropy Information Officer. One of my roles is to communicate the progress made by our MND researchers, in layman’s terms, to the major donors and Trusts who generously fund much of our research. I will also be sharing research updates more…
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: 7 minutes Hi, I’m Heather, a PhD student from King’s College London, and a Communications Ambassador for the 34th International Symposium on ALS/MND which was held in Basel last December. Over 1,300 attendees from around the world gathered to connect with researchers and people affected by MND and engage with the latest research presented in the platform presentation and poster sessions. In this blog post, I will be sharing several of my personal highlights of the symposium, which cover how differences in our genetic code can be explored to understand their effects on MND risk and progression.
Reading Time: 5 minutes "New drug reduces risk of death by 50%"
You may have seen this type of headline in news articles reporting on the outcome of clinical trials. Reading this headline can lead people to believe a potential drug is highly beneficial and has a real impact. However, it is important to delve a little deeper into the meaning of ‘risk of death’, the raw data behind it, and how it should be considered alongside other outcome measures of a trial to fully determine how effective a drug might be.
