Thursday 19 January 2012

New Centre for mitochondrial research to take our research forward

A new £5.8 million research centre is to be set up that will continue research we have funded in Newcastle over the past 11 years. This research led by Professor Doug Turnbull involves a type of IVF to prevent mitochondrial diseases being passed from mother to child. This technique has proven successful in the laboratory but further research is required before it can be tested in a clinical trial. The new Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research will allow the researchers to take this research forward.

Research funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign at Newcastle University has previously shown that it might be possible to prevent mitochondrial diseases being passed from mother to child. Mitochondrial diseases are caused by problems with the mitochondria - the batteries that power the cells in our bodies. It is estimated that 3,500 people in the UK have mitochondrial myopathies, a group of mitochondrial diseases which, in the most severe cases, can cause debilitating and life threatening muscle weakness.

Researchers led by Professor Doug Turnbull in Newcastle (in collaboration with Dr Mary Herbert and Professor Alison Murdoch) have developed a technique which involves IVF. Genetic material (chromosomes) are removed from an embryo created by IVF and transferred to a donor egg. Using eggs and embryos donated to research by women undergoing IVF, it has been shown in the laboratory that this technique is effective in replacing the faulty mitochondria, or ‘batteries'. Read more about this research here.

The research team has also been working on a closely related technique which involves transferring genetic material between two eggs. In this case, genetic material from the egg of the mother seeking treatment would be transferred into an egg from a donor. This egg would then be fertilised with the father's sperm before being implanted into the mother's womb. However, more research is required before these techniques are considered for introduction into clinical practice.

Professor Doug Turnbull will be the Director of the new Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research where this research will be taken forward. The researchers will carry out essential further testing that they hope will prove that this technique is safe and effective. Last year the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) requested such experiments be done before it can advise Parliament on whether to allow the techniques to proceed in patients. In addition, the Department of Health has recently announced a consultation to inform the public about mitochondrial disease and seek public opinion about the use of such IVF techniques to prevent them. Read more about this consultation here.

The new Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research will be set up with a £4.4 million grant from the Wellcome Trust and a further £1.4 million from Newcastle University. The centre will bring together scientists and clinical researchers to establish a world leading centre dedicated to understanding the biology of mitochondria and their relation to health and disease.

Dr Marita Pohlschmidt, Director of Research at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign said:

I am delighted about the investments of the Welcome Trust and Newcastle University into a Centre for Mitochondrial Research - this is fantastic news. Mitochondrial myopathies are complex conditions and it is extremely difficult for clinicians to give parents advice about the risk of passing the condition on to their children. This technology has the potential to give parents the opportunity to have healthy children and this is the closest researchers have got to providing a cure for these devastating diseases.

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has supported Professor Doug Turnbull's research for the past 20 years and has spearheaded his search for a treatment by providing over £1.2 million during this time. Of this about half a million pounds was invested into getting this particular technology off the ground. This shows how important our research programme is, and the huge impact it has on finding treatment and cures.

Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign said:

This technology, a form of IVF, has been shown to work in the lab. Now we must explore it further and move it into clinical trials without delay. We are confident that the consultation will help the public understand the urgent need for the development of this treatment for our families. There must be a consensus to give people the chance to have healthy children.

Watch a video about this research on YouTube

It is only through your contributions that we can continue to fund the vital work that takes us closer to finding treatments and cures for muscle disease. Donate now and help change the lives of thousands of people living with muscle disease.