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How can we use fish to develop treatments for motor neuron disease? What are the treatments that currently exist? Dr Helena Chaytow and Dr Anna Motyl will explore the world of motor neuron disease research.
Just Keep Swimming: using zebrafish to model motor neuron disease
Dr Helena Chaytow
(Biomedical Science Research Fellow)
Motor neuron disease is a devastating disease with an unknown cause, and currently no effective therapy. MND is caused by the specific cell death of the motor neurons, which are in charge of muscle contractions. Without them, we can’t use our muscles, which leads to the progressive paralysis that we see in patients. In this talk we'll ask 3 questions: What causes the motor neurons to die? How can we treat such a complicated disease? And why are we doing it in zebrafish?
The Spinal Countdown: moving beyond gene therapies to treat motor neuron disease
Dr Anna Motyl
(Postdoctoral researcher )
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a devastating genetic disease that causes the nerve cells that control muscles to die. The ‘floppy infant’ symptoms start soon after birth and, without treatment, lead to death around two years later.
Thankfully, the past 25 years of SMA research have led to three ground-breaking (but expensive) gene therapies that allow patients to live longer than ever before.
In this talk, we will explore how those life-extending treatments work, but also where they leave the SMA field. Is our work done or can we still do more for patients?
Thankfully, the past 25 years of SMA research have led to three ground-breaking (but expensive) gene therapies that allow patients to live longer than ever before.
In this talk, we will explore how those life-extending treatments work, but also where they leave the SMA field. Is our work done or can we still do more for patients?
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