Sheffield scientists working on MND cure are 'on the brink of major breakthroughs'
The University of Sheffield has secured grants totalling £4.5m to help extend their research facility
Experts in Sheffield tell us they're on the 'brink of major breakthroughs' when it comes to finding treatments for conditions like motor neurone disease, dementia and multiple sclerosis.
The University of Sheffield has secured grants totalling £4.5m to help fund a vital extension to the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) which will allow them to continue their cutting-edge research.
The new building will allow them to house the latest facilities and equipment, expand drug discovery programmes and build on promising areas such as cell and gene therapy.
Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Professor of Neurology at the University of Sheffield and Director of SITraN, said: "The University of Sheffield has already made enormous steps in developing new treatments for patients with neurological diseases via SITraN, but there is so much more we want to achieve.
“MND is such a devastating condition, not only for patients but for their families. Often it progresses quite rapidly so it’s very difficult to adjust to one level of disability before something else has to be faced.
“But we’re really on the brink of major breakthroughs now.
“We’ve got a genetic therapy called toferson that really is a shining ray of hope because it really helps slow down the disease, stabilise patients…and the first trial I’ve done where a lot of patients have been reporting ‘my muscle strength is getting better’. So improved function and strength, which has been unheard of until now.
“We won’t find an overnight, miraculous cure. It will be step by step progress in slowing down the disease progression, which in turn will make it a much less frightening disorder. If we could have people routinely living 10 or 15 years with it, it would be a much less devastating condition.
“Our research teams have grown from 64 people in 2010 to more than 300 but in order to continue momentum and take us a step closer to finding a cure for diseases such as motor neurone disease, we need to expand our neuroscience facilities.
"A state-of-the-art sister facility, made possible by generous donations and grants such as these, will enable us to continue to grow our research programs, supported by cutting-edge scientific facilities and equipment, expand our drug discovery programmes and build on promising areas such as cell and gene therapy.”