Scientists have discovered a new medicine that they say offers hope of substantially slowing the progress of motor neurone disease (MND).
The drug, named M102, works by protecting nerve cells damaged by MND.
Preclinical studies of the drug conducted with mice show improvement in movement and nerve function.
Researchers are now hopeful the drug can be tested on humans with the neurological condition, for which there is currently no cure.
MND causes the messages from motor neurones – the nerve cells that transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscle – to gradually stop.
This leads to muscles becoming weak and stiff and gradually reduces the ability of patients to walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe.
There are around 5,000 people in the UK with MND. Those who develop the condition usually die within two to five years following the onset of symptoms.
Last year, rugby league star Rob Burrow died aged 41 after being diagnosed with the condition in 2019.
Following a decorated sporting career in which he represented Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain, he raised millions of pounds for charities doing research into the degenerative brain and nerve disease.
MND left him unable to speak and confined him to a wheelchair.
But he increased the public prominence of MND in the UK.
After his death, Tanya Curry, the chief executive of the MND Association, said Burrow “made a huge amount of difference”.
She said: “Not only for donations and financial influence for the organisation, but actually in the campaigning arena.”
“It’s a rare disease, but actually something that people understand now. So, he has done so much for the community and we are honestly so grateful for that.”
Former Scotland rugby international Doddie Weir died in 2022 at the age of 52 after a lengthy battle with MND.
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Last month, England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Lewis Moody announced he had been diagnosed with the disease.
The 47-year-old former England captain said it had been “incredibly hard to process and a huge shock to me and my family”.
Moody won 71 caps for England and also five for the British and Irish Lions, and was a seven-time title winner with Leicester.
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M102 was developed by scientists at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Translational Neuroscience (Sitran) working alongside in collaboration with Aclipse Therapeutics, a US biotech company.
Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, director of Sitran and lead investigator of the study, said: “MND is one of the cruellest diseases, robbing people of their mobility and independence often at an alarming speed.
“We are now at a point where scientific understanding is finally catching up.
“Our discovery of M102 gives real hope that we can substantially slow the progression of this disease.
“The preclinical studies not only showed improvement in movement, gait, and nerve function in mouse models, but it also protected motor neurones grown in the laboratory from damage caused by MND patient cells.”
Dr Richard Mead, senior lecturer in translational neuroscience at Sitran, said researchers could now move closer to a treatment that can “truly make a difference”.
