Stem cell study boosts MND research

A breakthrough using cutting-edge stem cell research could speed up the discovery of new treatments for motor neurone disease (. MND ). The international research team has created motor neurones using skin cells from a patient with an inherited form of MND . Role of protein. Using patient stem cells to model MND in a dish offers untold possibilities for how we study the cause of this terrible disease as well as accelerating drug discovery by providing a cost-effective way to test many thousands of potential treatments. Proffesor Siddharthan CHandrand Director of the University's Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research - The study discovered that abnormalities of a protein called TDP-43, implicated in more than 90 per cent of cases of MND , resulted in the death of motor neurone cells. This is the first time that scientists have been able to see the direct effect of abnormal TDP-43 on human motor neurons.