Repairing nerve cells could help in motor neurone fight

Motor neurone disease isn’t common but when it strikes it can be a tragedy and more than 1,500 people a year have to cope with that when they get the diagnosis.

- DR MIRIAM STOPPARD

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a degenerative disease where inexorable nerve damage causes progressive paralysis and difficulty swallowing. There’s no known cure and more than half of patients die within two years of diagnosis.

Now there’s a glimmer of hope. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have come up with a way to repair damaged nerve cells by repurposing drugs used to treat other diseases.

This research is very early and a long way from being ready for patients, but in my opinion, it’s a great lead for future treatments.