A NEW discovery in motor neurone disease (MND) and dementia research could help pave the way to novel treatments, scientists say.
A study from the University of Sheffield has identified a new mechanism which could help slow down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as MND, dementia and neurological decline associated with ageing.
Leading researchers from the university’s Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MBB) and the Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) have identified that tuning up the activity pathway of the DNA’s natural repair toolkit – which normally helps to restore breakages in our genetic material - could help to prevent the death of nerve cells which trigger neurological diseases.
Joint director of the study, Professor El-Khamisy said: “We were able to shut down the out-of-control degradation process, which runs down the cell’s ability to fix genomic breaks, using genetic techniques.
“Even though the DNA was still damaged, the cells were able to cope and did not die. Discovering this new mechanism and its consequence is a significant step towards developing new therapies for motor neurone disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.”
There are over 450 people in Scotland currently living with MND and on average over 160 new cases of MND are diagnosed each year. Even though there has been research into the cause of motor neurone disease, it is still difficult to identify a particular trigger for the disease.
Symptoms include a weakened grip, weakness at the shoulder that makes lifting the arm difficult, a “foot drop” caused by weak ankle muscles, a dragging of the leg or slurred speech.
The average life expectancy of a MND sufferer from diagnosis is just 14 months.
However, there are cases which have surpassed expectations. Professor Stephen Hawking, who has now 75, was first diagnosed with MND when he was 21-years-old and was given two years to live.
He credits the NHS and a “large amount of high-quality treatment” he had received.
Loading...
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here