MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research

The CNR particularly focuses on two neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's disease and motor neurone disease. Over half a million people have Alzheimer's disease in the UK and this number is likely to rise with the increase in the elderly population. It is therefore important that there is a much better understanding of the causes of the disease in order to develop more effective therapeutic strategies.

It is estimated that there are up to 5,000 people with motor neurone disease in the UK. In the majority of cases (more than 90 per cent), the diseases appear for no apparent reason (sporadic form) but the remaining cases occur in families (familial form) indicating that inherited genetic factors are involved. These cases are especially important because they provide clues of factors that can give rise to the diseases.

The centre brings together scientists investigating the causative mechanisms of these conditions in the laboratory with clinical colleagues investigating patients and conducting clinical trials. The combined laboratory and clinical investigations are aimed at identifying new therapeutic targets for drugs can be developed to find better treatments as well as to develop laboratory-based diagnostic methods.

The centre also includes stem cell research since this is an alternative possible treatment and state-of-the-art neuroimaging research, neuropsychology, epidemiological research and genetics, all of which are essential for improving our understanding of these conditions and monitoring the effectiveness of new drugs. The centre will work closely with the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLAM), the King's College Hospital NHS Trust (KCH) and Proteome Sciences plc.