Diseases of the nervous system

Neurological disorders affect many millions of people of all ages, in all nations, in all walks of life. In the young, a wide range of illnesses including genetic disorders, brain tumours, meningitis, epilepsies, cerebral palsies and autism take their toll, often leaving lifelong disability. Middle age sees the peak occurrence of devastating disorders such as multiple sclerosis, head injuries, motor neurone disease and stroke. Advancing years see the destructive effects of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Scotland, and in particular Glasgow, has one of the highest incidences of stroke and multiple sclerosis in the world. Both within Scotland and further afield, the collective costs of these disorders to individuals, their friends and families and societies are almost incalculable.

As the population expands and ages through improvements in health care, the pressure mounts further to understand these disorders. The vast complexity of the brain makes this a difficult but exciting area for research. The University of Glasgow has therefore amassed a large and dynamic group of researchers to take on the challenge of these disorders, in causation, diagnostics and new therapies, with a wide range of research activities from fundamental genetic studies to brain imaging and clinical trials. Your support of the Medical Fund will contribute to this effort, and help to alleviate the of diseases of the nervous system.

Support for new research

The Diseases of the Nervous System Fund recently helped fund a project within the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology which will investigate if stem cells can improve neurological deficits and functional outcome after stroke.  This is a new area of stroke research for the group and it is hoped that if this study yields positive results, the University can translate it to meaningful patient treatment.

The University has also been pursuing several projects relating to different aspects of understanding and treating Alzheimer's disease. The development of new drugs is especially important since only three drugs are currently available for Alzheimer's disease, none are very effective, and all have substantial and unpleasant side effects. The studies include examining the detailed mechanisms of a protein which reduces the learning problems that are a characteristic feature of early Alzheimer's disease, and identifying enzymes - both projects which could help produce valuable new drugs to treat this disease.