In his inaugural lecture on 17 October 2022, Professor Shaw gave insight to the remarkable progress recently achieved with a pioneering gene therapy delivery method for patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).  SMA is characterised by the loss of motor neurons, or nerve cells, in the spinal cord and is classified as a motor neuron disease. This progress has sparked a proliferation of … Read more
Join us for this inaugural webinar in the newly developed MND New Zealand Community Forum where leading researchers and neurological practitioners will provide an update on key areas of motor neurone disease research happening on both sides of the Tasman. Register for the MND Community Forum Webinar – 8 November 2022 Registration to this webinar … Read more
MND New Zealand welcomes the announcement of Professor Chris Shaw in his appointment to the Hugh Green Chair in Translational Neuroscience in the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland. The Hugh Green Foundation has generously endowed this Chair in Translational Neuroscience and the Hugh Green Biobank in perpetuity in the Centre for … Read more
In this issue:
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By October of this year, a small group of New Zealanders living with Motor Neuron Disease will begin their journey as members of the first-ever international phase 3 MND clinical trial to be offered in New Zealand, across multiple locations. The Lighthouse II trial looks at whether human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) play a role in … Read more
This year’s symposium was held virtually from 9 – 11 December. For further details on the presentations and presenters from this year’s symposium, please go to https://symposium.mndassociation.org You may also be interested in the cleverly designed ‘Periodic Table of MND Research’ summary of the symposium here: https://symposium.mndassociation.org/periodic-table/
In light of the most recent COVID-19 lockdown period, affecting Auckland and now lowering of alert levels again across the country, we want to let you know what we are doing in response to the current situation. In March, plans were put in place to enable Registry staff to continue to work from home using … Read more
Results from a study investigating if ‘a lack of social support and perceived stigma contributes to psychological distress in people with MND’ has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Health Psychology. The study, led by Natalie Leigh from Lancaster University in England, was conducted using an online survey of 77 participants, mainly … Read more
To all participants and potential participants in our University of Auckland/ADHB MND genetics screening and MRI scanning studies, we hope you are well and thank you for your patience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that we are at Level One, we have resumed study enrolment and sample collection and imaging for both our MND genetics … Read more
To all participants and potential participants in our University of Auckland/ADHB MND genetics screening and MRI scanning studies, Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that participating in our research remains safe and you don’t need to go out to have scans done or to have blood samples taken, we have decided to pause MRI … Read more
A ground-breaking MND clinical drug trial is about to launch in Scotland. The platform, MND-SMART, is a UK-wide trial which aims to find treatments that can slow, stop or reverse the progression of MND. While clinical trials usually focus on a single drug, MND-SMART will allow more than one treatment to be tested at a … Read more
On Monday 9th December, in conjunction with the MND Research Network, we proudly hosted the Inaugural MND New Zealand Research Conference at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland. It was a momentous occasion, gathering 16 speakers, both national and international experts, to discuss the latest updates in MND Research. The Morning’s session focused on understanding and … Read more