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The Life Scientific: Pam Shaw on the research battle against motor neurone disease

Pam Shaw on the research battle against motor neurone disease

BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, Pam Shaw on the research battle against motor neurone disease

How new drug trials could mark a turning point in MND research.

Professor Dame Pamela Shaw tells Jim Al-Khalili how new drug trials and fresh investment could mark a turning point for research into motor neurone disease.

Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a degenerative disease that relentlessly attacks the human nervous system, deteriorating muscle function to the point where patients can no longer move, talk, eat, or even breathe. 

To date there’s no cure, and until fairly recently there were only minimal treatments to ease the symptoms. 

Pam Shaw has dedicated her career to changing that.

A Professor of Neurology at Sheffield University and Founding Director of the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, she recently led clinical trials into a drug that delivered unprecedented results: showing that it could slow the progression of MND in certain patients, and even improve symptoms for some.

It’s just one small step – but with a new tranche of research funding and a national institute to study the disease on the cards, Pamela believes this could be the start of real progress in understanding and treating Motor Neuron Disease.

Producer: Lucy Taylor

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Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future

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