EURAL’S- Exercise study

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The Irish MND research group is part of a wider European consortium on MND called ENCALS

 http://www.euromotorproject.eu/

Researchers in ENCALS (formerly known as EURAL'S) have received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme to conduct a very large study of the causes on MND, called EUROMOTOR (http://www.euromotorproject.eu/)

The Irish MND research group plays a key role in the study.

ENCALS has also recently formed a second research group (SOPHIA) which has received funding from the European Joint Programme on Neurodegeneration to find biomarkers of MND.

The Irish MND group is part of the SOPHIA consortium,  http://www.neurodegenerationresearch.eu/initiatives/biomarker-transnational-call/results-of-funding-call/sophia/

 

Experts are constantly looking for ‘triggers’ which might result in a person presenting with MND.  One concept which is currently under investigation suggests that strenuous physical exercise, repeated traumatic events, and (ab)use of toxic compounds may increase the risk of ALS in predisposed individuals.  Indeed, an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has recently been reported in soccer players in Italy.

However, it is important that this concept is confirmed with a large sample of patients with ALS and gender, age and geographically matched controls of the individuals with disease and the entire population at risk. The European ALS Consortium (EURALS) is a network of population-based registries which identifies about 600 patients with newly diagnosed ALS every year from Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom making it the ideal source of patients for the exercise study aiming to confirm (or disprove) a link between sport activities (amateur or professional), physical exercise and trauma.

This collection will represent a unique resource consisting of both lifestyle and environmental risk factor data and the corresponding DNA of a large number of MND patients. This resource will allow the testing of interactions between genetic and environmental factors potentially involved in the mechanisms of the disease.