Motor Neurone Disease charity donates to research

A Guernsey charity has donated £30,000 to support a three-year biomedical university research project.

Guernsey Motor Neurone said the money would help towards research investigating the role of mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells, in the breakdown of communication between nerve cells in Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).

The project is a collaboration between Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and the University of Oxford.

The Guernsey charity said the study would use advanced laboratory techniques, with the aim to improve the identification of new drug targets for drug therapy development that could slow or halt disease progressions.

It hoped the research would also find new ways of measuring nerve cell health in drug screening studies.

The project is being led by Dr Ruxandra Dafinca, senior research fellow at Oxford and Prof Kevin Talbot, head of clinical neurosciences.

Chief scientist of the MNDA Dr Brian Dickie said the overall cost of the project was £330,000 over the three years.

He described the charity's donation as a reflection of its "long-standing relationship" with the association and commitment to supporting research into the disease.

"We are deeply indebted to the islanders and businesses whose generosity makes it possible for GMN to make this kind of donation," Dickie said.

"Charitable funding plays a vital role in enabling the MNDA and its research partners to accelerate research, support scientists and advance the development of new therapies for people living with MND."

He thanked the charity for its continued financial support.

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