Manchester
Neurotherapy Centre Open Day
Our runners shine(Great Manchester Run)
THE Salford
MS Society’s Big Night Out was a huge success.
The evening
was organised by newsletter/website editor Joe Conboy and his friend Vince
Hopkins, who has recently joined the MS Society (details of how to join on page
2).
And the
night raked in much-needed money for the Salford branch thanks to the generosity
of the audience, the fantastic stage performances of The Bar Flies, The Mear
Catz and Dave Buck and the donation of great items from friends and local businesses.
Sporting
organisations were particularly generous.
Manchester
United donated a football, signed by the players.
But their
main draw was the chance of one lucky gambler to meet Ryan Giggs at the
Carrington Training Ground and receive a pair of football boots from the Welsh
wizard himself. The winner was life-long United fan Mike Lawton.
We also had
two signed Salford Reds rugby shirts and a meal for two plus a show at The
Willows.
Horse
racing magazine Racing Ahead also weighed in with two superb 12-month
subscriptions. Argos donated a £50 shopping voucher.
There was
more to add to the raffle and, as a result of all the items on offer, we raised
£1,150 on the night.
South Korean scientists have, for the first time, created
stem cells tailored to patients with specific medical conditions.
They took skin cells from patients suffering from spinal
cord injuries and various genetic conditions and used cloning to produce stem
cells matched to each.
Their work could point the way to using cloned cells to
create spare part tissue for treating diseases with no rejection problems.
Meanwhile, scientists at Newcastle University have successfully
produced a cloned embryo using donated eggs and genetic material from stem
cells.
This is the first time a human cloned embryo has been
created in Britain.
Stem cells are an exciting area of medical research which
many hope will lead to revolutionary new treatments in the next 10-20 years.
In MS, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks myelin in
the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system or CNS). Myelin forms a
protective layering around nerve cells. Without myelin, the nerve cells are unable
to send signals properly.
They also become damaged, leading to loss of function and
disability.
The potential to repair the damage to the CNS caused by MS
or to prevent further
damage leads many people to hope stem cell therapies will provide
a ‘cure’ for MS or at least halt disease progression. However MS may be more
difficult to treat using stem cells than other conditions because damage occurs
throughout the CNS and more than one type of cell is involved. Restoring
function will require a number of steps, including the repair of
oligodendrocytes (the cells that make myelin), the repair of nerves as well as
restoring the complex circuitry of the CNS. Therefore the benefits of stem cell
research for people with MS are likely to be in the longer term.
The Salford MS Society branch AGM takes place at Worsley
Court House on Wednesday, June 8.
The event takes place from 7pm until 7.45pm.
Fundraising events will also take place.
From 8pm until 9.30pm there is an MS information event
including speaker Liz Hartley, MS Support Nurse, on the MS Nurse’s role.
Julie Henney, Service Development Officer for Cheshire &
Merseyside and Lancs & Cumbria, will also talk on the Society’s work in the
north west.
THE Manchester Neurotherapy Centre Open Day is on Wednesday,
June 22.
The doors are open from 10am to anyone who has, or knows
somebody who has, a condition that affects the brain.
The Mancheater Neuropathy Centre is at 466 Bolton Road,
Pendlebury, Salford.
On August 12, the Bigfoot Cheshire Trek starts and you, or
someone you know, has the chance to walk 50 miles in three days to raise money.
It costs £50 each to register but, if you are part of a team
and can get at least £400 each in sponsorship, it costs £45 each to take part.
Funds raised will go towards the MS Nurses Fund, the Tissue
Bank Appeal and the MRI Scanner appeal - all backed by the MS Society.
The MS Bigfoot team will provide fundraising and training support
to all walkers.
Registration is open. Enquiry packs are available from the
MS Events Team on 0870 241 3565 or email
bigfoot@mssociety.org.uk
More information is on the website www.mssociety.org.uk
A DAY of information and fun will take place in October.
Making Sense is on Saturday, October 15 at The Novotel, Worsley.
The day will feature info on research, employment,
sex/pregnancy, how to make the NHS work best for you, what the MS Society can
do for you and therapies.
Then the fun begins! There will be a disco so you can dance
the night away and meet others with MS.
If you are interested, contact Julie Henney on 0151 487 6749
or jhenney@mssociety.org.uk
A SUPERB team lined up on behalf of the Salford MS Society
branch in the Bupa Great Manchester Run on Sunday, May 22. Our runners raised
£1,250 for the branch as a result of their brave displays. A field of 20,000
lined up for the contest and all of our contenders completed the 10km ordeal in
around an hour. Overall, there were 200 people running in the MS Society
colours representing a variety of branches. Double Olympic 10,000m champion
Haile Gebrselassie smashed the UK 10km record as he won the race in style.
The Ethiopian knocked 14 seconds off the record to cross the
line in 27.25 minutes.
In the women’s race, Lornah Kiplagat claimed the title in
31.28 minutes.
The Kenyan-born runner now represents Holland. Charlotte Dale
was the first British woman in 32.51 minutes. While Chris Davies was the first
British man, finishing fifth in 28.37 minutes. Tushar Patel took the men’s
wheelchair race .
Patel, who holds the
British 10km record, finished 11 seconds ahead of Kenny Herriott in 24.45
minutes, while Jason Gill took third. Three-time London Marathon winner
Porcellato of Italy took the women’s title in 25.57 minutes. The Bupa Great
Manchester Run was a great success and Phil McHenry was talking about next
year’s event as soon as he crossed the line!