Genetic Research

This work capitalizes on the unique genetic structures of the Irish population. The Irish MND  group has identified a number of important genes in ALS, and collaborates widely with other groups in Holland, the UK, Sweden , Poland and the USA. The group has shown that MND is part of a wider group of conditions of neurodegeneration including forms of dementia. Studying large families in which there is a higher than expected frequency of neurodegenerative conditions including MND can help to identify new causative genes.  Studying the pathways linked to these genes can in turn help to find new targets for treatment.  The  Irish population is ideally suited to this form of study, as the MND Register has been in operation for over 15 years; families are large, and there is a high degree of relatedness within the  population.