Pharmaceutical Research and Clinical Trials
Around the world several pharmaceutical companies and many clinical researchers are investigating both new and known drugs for their possible use in treating the symptoms of and stopping the progression of MND. Over the years many drugs have been looked at, but to date only Riluzole has been licensed for use in treating MND directly.
One recently developed approach that has just started clinical trials is to use small interfering RNA molecules (siRNAs) to block the production of the products made by defective genes such as the SOD1 gene. If the theory of this translates into an effective gene treatment, despite being fraught with potential problems, it may be possible to switch off and block defective genes not only in MND but in other genetic diseases too.
