proteins and MND Archives - MND Research Blog

Investigating differences in protein production in MND

19 October 202319 October 2023Research Development Team

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.

Do the eyes have it? Could Resistant Nerves See Our Way to a Treatment?

30 August 201920 May 2020nickjamescole

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Science Show on ABC Radio National in Australia, features an interview with Professor Justin Yerbury on Saturday 17th August. The article containing the interview titled ‘Resistant nerves could lead to treatment for neurodegenerative disease‘ is a fascinating insight into Prof Yerbury’s work on the delicate balance of proteins in solution within our nerves and…

Investigating C9orf72 and TDP-43 proteins in a fruitfly model of MND

17 June 201629 April 2022Belinda Cupid

Reading Time: 2 minutes Background to C9orf72 toxicity We know that damage to C9orf72 (both the gene and the protein it makes) is a crucial step in why some people get MND and why some people get frontotemporal dementia. There are three possible reasons why C9orf72 is toxic. 1) the way the gene is damaged alters how it normally…

Developing models to test new treatments for MND

12 June 201629 April 2022Belinda Cupid

Reading Time: 2 minutes Developing disease models is important for furthering our understanding of MND and allows researchers to screen potential new drugs for a beneficial effect. Moving a promising ‘nearly drug’ from the lab to being tested in people is known as ‘translational research’. Dr Richard Mead was awarded the Kenneth Snowman/MND Association Lectureship in Translational Neuroscience in…

Preventing TDP-43 deposits in motor neurones

11 June 201629 April 2022Research Development Team

Reading Time: 2 minutes Deposits of the protein TDP-43 are found within the motor neurones in the majority of cases of MND, and are considered a pathological hallmark of the disease. While we do not fully understand how these deposits are formed, previous research has shown that activation of a process called the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) can cause…

Toxic proteins may cause motor neurones to die in C9orf72 MND

7 August 201419 April 2022Dr Samantha Price2 Comments

Reading Time: 4 minutes MND Association and Alzheimer’s Research UK-funded researchers from University College London have identified that toxic proteins may cause motor neurones to die in C9orf72 MND and frontotemporal dementia. Published open access in the journal Science on Thursday 7 August, this research explains more about one of the most common forms of inherited MND.

The MND Researchers Bake off Champion!

25 July 201419 April 2022Dr Samantha Price1 Comment

Reading Time: 2 minutes As well as helping out with our ‘blog a day’ during MND Awareness Month, we also asked our researchers to get involved in ‘baking’ to become our first ‘MND Researchers Bake off Champion’. We received some great science-themed cakes, from zebrafish biscuits to a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR) machine cake! Our Director of Research, Dr Brain Dickie said:…

X-rays for MND research

2 June 201419 April 2022Research Development Team1 Comment

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dr Gareth Wright, based at the University of Liverpool, is a postdoctoral researcher funded by the MND Association. His research is all about using physics and x-rays to further our understanding of MND. Here he gives us a taste of why X-rays are important. The background to X-rays We have a long history of X-ray science…

A PERK for neurodegenerative disease?

10 October 201314 April 2022Belinda Cupid1 Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes Our bodies need to be able to make new proteins, to maintain long term memory. So if the ability to make new proteins is switched off, does this cause Alzheimer’s Disease? New research findings published yesterday by scientists based in Leicester take us closer to answering this question. Journalist are describing this as a step…