A team from the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre (LWENC), run jointly by the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) and UCLInstitute of Neurology, have been awarded the first ever major UK grant to investigate how changes in gut bacteria could slow the progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Motor Neuron Disease (MND).
The Reta Lila Weston Trust 2016 Microbiome Funding Grant, worth £1.2 million, has been awarded to Dr Nikhil Sharma, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and senior clinical researcher at UCL, for research into the microbiome and its role in some of the world’s most destructive neurodegenerative disorders.
MND kills on average a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis. Approximately 5,000 people in the UK have MND at any one time.
Using the latest imaging methods the research will assess whether changes in gut microbiota (gut flora/bacteria) can influence the microglia cells in the brain that control inflammation and appear to be central in MND and other diseases like Alzheimer’s. The team believes the microglia may be able to protect the motor neurones early in MND and thereby slow its progression.
Dr Sharma said: “It is remarkable that there is a two-way conversation between gut flora and cells in the brain. However, we do not know how this relates to progression in people living with MND. Not only will our research address this question, but we will explore whether changing the gut flora could slow progression in ‘real world’ patients. This could fundamentally change our approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases.”
Garfield Mitchell, Chair of the Reta Lila Weston Trust, said: “Funding world-class research is vital if we are to discover whether the solution to some of the most devastating neurodegenerative conditions of our time lies not in our brains but in our gut. Dr Sharma’s research could lead to a major breakthrough in understanding whether the microbiome holds the key to preventing or slowing down the progress of diseases such as MND.”
It’s expected that the results, due in 2021, could be applied to a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Brian Dickie, from the Motor Neuron Disease Association, said: “There is increasing evidence that microglia can influence the severity and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, but there are major challenges in developing drugs that target the brain. The idea of targeting activity in the gut, upstream of events occurring in the brain, offers exciting new prospects for treatment.”
Sarah Ezekiel, a MND patient, said: "I've lived with MND for several years, I'm paralysed from the neck down and dependent on carers. That is why this new research is so important as it will shed some light on the cause of MND and could help lead to better treatment or even a cure."
The study will be hosted in the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre Clinical Research Facility, the only UK clinic dedicated to experimental medicine and early phase clinical trials in neurodegeneration.
Professor Mike Hanna, Director of the UCL Institute of Neurology, said: “I would like to congratulate Nikhil Sharma and his team on this exciting award. Using the microbiome to target the microglia in MND is an intriguing approach that could reveal novel therapy targets for a range of neurodegenerative diseases.”
Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, said: “I’m delighted that the Reta Lila Weston Trust has made the decision to fund this exciting work led by Nikhil Sharma and his team. This is a particularly innovative area and it would be wonderful if it provided new insights which could be translated into an effective treatment for this devastating condition.”