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Investigating differences in protein production in MND

Investigating differences in protein production in MND

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.

Boosting energy in nerve cells is a promising target for MND treatments
EDINBURGH, UK – 8th June 2017: Euan MacDonald visits the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh to see first hand the latest research into the treatment of Motor Neuron Disease. (Photograph: MAVERICK PHOTO AGENCY)

Boosting energy in nerve cells is a promising target for MND treatments

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…

Does the glymphatic system play a role in MND?

Does the glymphatic system play a role in MND?

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…

Toxicity of cerebrospinal fluid in ALS/MND
Graphical abstract showing that exposing cells grown in a laboratory dish to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from ALS patients is toxic to the cells.

Toxicity of cerebrospinal fluid in ALS/MND

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…

11th Lady Edith Wolfson Clinical Fellowship awarded

11th Lady Edith Wolfson Clinical Fellowship awarded

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…

Using DNA Bank samples to create iPSC models of MND

Reading Time: 2 minutes Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has enabled researchers to create and study living human motor neurones in the lab, derived originally from patient skin cells. This project (our reference 80-970-797) is a collaboration between the labs of Professors Chris Shaw and Jack Price at King’s College in London and Siddharthan Chandran in Edinburgh. It…

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness…..and prizes….

Reading Time: 3 minutes The fantastic news that Patrick Joyce and his co-inventors have won the 2015 Hackaday Prize for their ‘Eyedrivomatic’ invention is one of a number of research prizes announced this autumn. At the beginning of November Prof Martin Turner was presented with the Graham Bull Prize for Clinical Science by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). The…