Thank you for contacting me about Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and research.
I know that MND can have a devastating impact on a person’s quality of everyday life and can be a real struggle for patients and their loved ones. Please allow me to assure you that ensuring early diagnosis and support for those living with it remains a key priority of the NHS.
With early diagnosis key to treating the symptoms of MND, I am pleased that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published new guidelines for clinicians on the assessment and management of MND. These set out the signs and symptoms of the disease and recommend that patients suspected of having MND should be referred without delay. The Royal College of GPs and the MND Association have also worked together to produce a ‘Red Flag Tool’ which sets out key signs of MND to help GPs to identify suspected cases and ensure prompt referral.
I also recognise the valuable contribution made by carers of people with MND and welcome that a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy is being introduced to look at what more can be done to support existing and future carers.
It is also encouraging that almost £288 million has been spent on research into neurological conditions, including MND, in the past decade through the publicly-funded National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). With the NIHR’s annual spending on neurological conditions up by more than £22 million in that period, I remain hopeful that this funding will discover new ways to improve the lives of those diagnosed with MND.
I was extremely interested to read about the research undertaken by the University of Edinburgh which identified an issue with MNDpatients' nerve cells, suggesting that this damage could be repaired by improving the energy levels in mitochondria. While I understand that this research is still in early stages, it is a most welcome step forward.
Thank you for inviting me to the APPG for MND on 25 February. I have attended many MND events in the past and it has been a pleasure to meet MND representatives in Westminster and Horsham. It is in my diary and I would like to attend but I am afraid this will be subject to other commitments on the day. Unfortunately, recently, short-notice Covid meetings/related issues have made planning harder than usual, for which I apologise.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
