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14 Headlines MND patients trialling new drug in New Zealand first A group of New Zealanders living with motor neuron disease (MND) are playing an important role in the global fight against the disease. T wenty MND patients from regions all over New Zealand are taking part in the Lighthouse II project – an international trial of the drug Triumeq. Triumeq is an anti-retroviral already used to treat HIV/AIDS, that is showing some promise as a breakthrough treatment for MND. The trial is a large-scale global effort to find a treatment for MND. It was designed by Professor Julian Gold at the University of Sydney and is being led in New Zealand by Dr Alan Stanley, a neurologist based at Te Matau a Maui, Hawkes Bay, part of Te Whatu Ora (formerly Hawke's Bay District Health Board). Other key collaborators are Macquarie University, King’s College London and the TRICALS collaboration – a large European research initiative dedicated to finding a cure for MND. The Kiwi participants are in Phase 3 of the trial, which is co-funded in New Zealand by MND NZ and the Neurological Foundation. They are among 390 MND patients worldwide taking part in the study. “This is an exciting opportunity for people with MND,” says Dr Stanley. H er research team has produced a potentially exciting target for ALS treatment using a technique called immunohistochemistry. It involves imaging and analysing human brain tissue to obtain a better understanding of the cellular processes of ALS. Dr Swanson was able to use post-mortem human brain tissue generously donated to the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank for her study. While treatments for ALS have mostly focused on targeting motor neurons, the results from Dr Swanson’s study suggest that targeting microglia, a specialised immune cell, may be an alternative to slowing the progression of this devastating disease. Young MND researcher says UNDERSTANDING ISKEYTO DEVELOPING TREATMENTS Dr Molly Swanson, from the University of Auckland, is studying the disease progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neuron disease (MND). She has been supported in her career with both a Small Project and First Fellowship grant from the Neurological Foundation. Dr Molly Swanson