The Brain Research Trust
Since its founding in 1971, the Brain Research Trust has funded research totalling more than £30 million at the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London. The Trust aims to provide a steady income to sustain and expand the vital research carried out at the Institute of Neurology, which together with the National Hospital, is the UK's foremost centre for research into diseases of the brain and nervous system. From the more than 250 identifiable neurological conditions, the Institute's current research programme includes: Alzheimer's Disease, Brain Tumours, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, Parkinson's Disease, Epilepsy, Motor Neurone Disease, Migraine, Brain Trauma and Spinal Cord Regeneration. The Brain Research Trust is the leading UK charity for research into neurological disease.
Since November 2002, Professor Marwan Hariz and his team at the Unit of Functional Neurosurgery (U-FuN) have carried out around one hundred Deep Brain Stimulation operations for the treatment of Parkinsons disease, dystonia, chronic pain, essential tremor and post traumatic tremor. Sufferers from Tourette's Syndrome and depression may in the future also benefit from this operation. The results of U-FuN are a remarkable achievement and a great milestone in the treatment of Parkinsons disease and dystonia.
Epilepsy Freezer
A historic collaboration between the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE), the UCL Institute of Neurology and the Brain Research Trust is currently aimed at raising up to £11,000 in order to purchase a 80C freezer for tissue storage. This new freezer forms part of a huge £800,000 appeal by the National Society for Epilepsy.
Once this purchase is made, the freezer will be used for storing DNA samples taken from Epilepsy patients. Significantly, the new DNA storage freezer will make possible the ground-breaking work now being undertaken to aid prediction of anti-epileptic drugs most likely to work in individual patients.
Spinal Repairs
Professor Geoff Raisman, Director of the Institute of Neurology Spinal Repair Unit, is currently working towards using a special type of stem cell, which is taken from high in the nose and then injected into a paralysed patient's damaged spinal cord.
As a result of much meticulous research, it is Professor Raisman's belief that these nasal stem cells will be able to make paths through the scar tissue covering the damaged spinal cord, potentially enabling the re-constitution of healthy new nerve fibres.
In a study, which begins this autumn, Professor Raisman will work closely with surgeon Professor Tom Carlstedt, to reconstitute injured nerve fibres high up within the spinal cord. Often, high spinal cord injury presents in loss of movement, control and sensation in the arm, and sadly such injuries are very common in serious motorcycle accidents.
It is believed that “glial” stem cells taken from the nose will, after a few weeks, have created a pathway for severed nerve fibres to re-grow and as a result, normal sensation and movement will be restored. Speaking recently, Professor Raisman commented that, from here, the way is open to evolve techniques for repairing larger spinal cord injuries of the type that Christopher Reeve suffered.
Neil Payne
About the Author
Chairman of the Brain Research Trust
For further details about the work of the Brain Research Trust please write to the BRT, 15 Southampton Place, London, WC1A 2AJ, or visit the website on: