The profound timing of Queensland researchers’ motor neurone disease breakthrough

Queensland researchers have made a breakthrough they say could turn motor neurone disease, a degenerative and ultimately terminal illness, into a manageable chronic condition.

The research was made possible in large part by money raised by late AFL great Neale Daniher and has come just as rival code the NRL kicks off its month-long fundraising campaign for former South Sydney Rabbitohs player Jai Arrow, who was diagnosed earlier this year.

The disease kills two Australians every day, with an average prognosis of just two to three years from diagnosis.

Researchers from the University of Queensland along with global counterparts, have developed a drug, called R8Y, which targets and activates an immune cell receptor called C5aR2.

This allows researchers to study the receptor’s behaviour and role in inflammation, paving the way for new anti-inflammatory treatments for motor neurone disease, as well as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.

“With this knowledge, it’s possible we could have an anti-inflammatory drug treatment for testing in MND patients within five years, possibly turning the disease into a long-term chronic condition rather than an acute terminal illness,” Professor Trent Woodruff from the UQ School of Biomedical Sciences said.

“Our goal is really to slow the progression of the disease, so to target a component that’s accelerating the disease and making the disease faster and more aggressive.

“The drug, by binding to this receptor, can limit the amount of inflammatory damage that’s occurring.

“There’s still many steps to take, but we think it’s an important step because this particular immune target that we’ve been studying for many years has never really been targeted before with a drug.”

The research was funded by FightMND, Daniher’s charity which has been raising money for a cure for more than a decade, and a National Health and Medical Research Council grant.

The NRL’s fundraising round “Jai July” has seen multiple corporate brands commit large donations for every single try across the NRL, NRLW and Origin during the month of July.