Solidarity doesn't degenere
La Marató de TV3’s 22nd telethon will deploy all its ability to raise awareness and to motivate the public for the benefit of neurodegenerative research
The 2013 telethon for La Marató de TV3 will be on Sunday 15 December and will be dedicated to neurodegenerative diseases. The diseases of the brain were also the focus of the 1996 and 2005 telethons.
Neurodegenerative diseases are chronic, progressive pathologies of the central nervous system caused by the steady loss of neurones of the brain and spinal cord. The loss of neurones is due to environmental factors, genetic mutations or neuronal degeneration that is the consequence of ageing, among other trigger factors.
Diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s chorea, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are some examples of what can be caused by alteration of the complex neuronal circuits. All of them are highly debilitating diseases because of the severe changes in behaviour suffered by patients, involving a great degree of dependence and a direct effect on the family environment for a number of years. Because diseases such as multiple sclerosis or ALS affect young people, they represent they represent a high degree of disablement.
Biomedical research is putting a great effort into combating neuronal degradation and death through several different therapeutic strategies, such as the creation of healthy neurones through genetic modification with stem cells or immunotherapy. But if progress is to be made in these cellular therapies and in the whole field of basic clinical and epidemiological research in neurodegeneration, there is still a long way to travel.
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Further information: La Marató de TV3