Press Releases
Gene discovery could help improve nerve repair after injury
Prof. Tom Gillingwater and his group have discovered a gene that controls how quickly a person's nerves can regenerate after injury or disease. The APOE gene is already known to control nerve repair in the brain in conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease or stroke. Now, Tom and colleagues have shown in a mouse model that one form of this gene, called APOE4, slows the regrowth of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, including nerves that connect to muscles in the arms and legs and those that carry sensory information from the skin. This finding could ultimately lead to better understanding and treatment of motor neurone disease and other neurological conditions, as well as predicting how fast recovery will be from severe physical trauma such as a car accident.
See the full paper here : Comley et al., HMG, in press
Read the full press release: Gene discovery could help improve nerve repair after injury, 11th April 2011
See the press coverage on the BBC website and in The Scotsman
Stem cell study could aid motor neurone
disease research
Scientists have discovered a new way to generate human motor nerve cells in a development that will help research into motor neurone disease....
Read full article
Euan MacDonald Centre Director featured in
The Times
Professor Siddharthan Chandran, Director of the Euan MacDonald Centre, has been featured in an article titled 'Stem cells hold key to slowing down brain diseases', in The Times on 10th August 2009.In it, Professor Chandran discusses the research being carried out at the Centre, and the progress that has been made to...
Read full article
Zebrafish offer clues to treatments for Motor Neurone Disease
Tiny zebrafish could hold the key to stem cell treatments for motor neurone disease.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have found that these fish are able to produce motor neurones - cells...
Read full article
Donation for Motor Neurone Centre
The University is to set up a centre of excellence that will carry out research into motor neurone disease (MND). The Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research will focus on developing more effective treatment for patients and will form part of a worldwide effort towards finding a cure for the disease. It will build...
Read full article