News

Find out about what's been happening in the trial.

screenshot of publication titles and authors from Journal of Neurology

Factors Impacting Trial Participation in People with MND

Oct 2023: MND-SMART researchers have recently published a study that aimed to improve understanding of why people with MND choose to participate, or not participate, in clinical trials of potential new treatments.

A screenshot of the header of the publication in the scientific journal

The role of placebo control in clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases

Oct 2023: The MND-SMART trial team, and the people living with MND who are co-producing the trial, have considered the pros and cons of including a placebo group in a trial like MND-SMART.

A group of 12 people standing and smiling outside the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic. Half of the people are researchers wearing teal scrubs. The others are the trial leads for MND-SMART and representatives from the Alan Davidson Foundation.

New funding to accelerate opportunities for participation in MND-SMART

Sep 2023: We're delighted to announce that the Alan Davidson Foundation has pledged £1.275M investment in MND-SMART over 5 years to further increase opportunities for people living with MND across the UK to participate in the trial.

Breaking News: An update on Memantine, Trazodone and Placebo arms

Sep 2023: Judy Newton, MND nurse consultant and Beverley Gray, MND-SMART family, and participant representative detail the outcome of the latest results of MND-SMART.

A group photo of about 80 people in a conference room

MND-SMART Gathering - Edinburgh July 2023

Jul 2023: The MND-SMART teams from across the UK came together for an informative and enjoyable afternoon symposium to discuss all aspects of the trial.

Screenshot from webinar featuring the four participants on a video call

Webinar recording: Unlocking the Future of MND: A Journey of Discovery and Hope

June 2023: Watch a recording of the Dementia Researcher webinar about MND and the MND-SMART clinical trial.

Dr Jane Haley (right), Director of Research MND Scotland, with Mr Stevie Williams (left), who is living with MND, plus Judy Newton, MND Nurse Lead for Scotland, and Prof Suvankar Pal, co-lead of MND-SMART)

New investment in MND-SMART

June 2023: Charities MND Scotland and the MND Association have announced £2.5M funding for MND-SMART.

a man sitting at a desk in a clinic room, smiling at a researcher who is holding a clipboard

MND-SMART is growing: thank you to all our participants and site teams!

June 2023: MND-SMART has reached several milestones recently in terms of number of participants recruited, number of sites open, and number of drugs being tested.

The Poole MND-SMART team. Left to right: Dr Charles Hillier, Consultant Neurologist University Hospitals Dorset & local Principal Investigator for MND-SMART; Maxine Ashton, Senior Clinicals trial Assistant; Judith Dube, Neurology Research Nurse

Poole joins MND-SMART

May 2023: We are delighted that University Hospitals Dorset in Poole is now recruiting participants to MND-SMART.

The four members of the Craigavon site team

Northern Ireland joins MND-SMART

Mar 2023: We are delighted that The Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Craigavon, is now open as a recruiting site for MND-SMART

A picture of Emily Beswick against a background of a countryside lane

PhD success for early-career researcher

Feb 2023: Euan MacDonald Centre PhD student successfully defends her PhD thesis.

Picture of the front page to the BMJ Open article

New publication: How we selected drugs for the MND-SMART clinical trial

Feb 2023: We have published the detailed strategy for selection of the first two drugs in the MND-SMART clinical trial.