Motor Neuron Disease (The Facts)

Motor neuron disease (MND) is a common but devastating disability that has a profound impact on people's lives. This book provides an easily-accessible guide to the disease for patients with motor neuron disease and their carers. The authors have organised it around a series of the commonest questions asked in their clinic, emphasising the variation in the course of MND and the individual nature of the patient journey through the disease. After an initial description of the symptoms for MND and how neurologists make the diagnosis the authors describe what is known about the causes and how scientists are trying to understand the disease. The book also looks at how a team of specialists can provide support and symptom control for the patient.

Kevin Talbot is an academic neurologist with a special interest in degenerative diseases of the nervous system, in particular motor neuron diseases. He qualified in medicine from the University of London and trained in Neurology in London and Oxford. He is currently an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow. As Director of the Oxford MND Care Centre he leads a team which provides multidisciplinary care for patients with MND. He has developed Oxford as a centre for research into the cause and treatment of motor neuron diseases. His laboratory research is focussed on using genetic and cellular models to further our understanding why motor neurons are vulnerable to damage, with the ultimate aim of finding new therapies.
Rachael Marsden qualified as a nurse in 1987. For almost 18 years she worked at Ritchie Russell House - a young disabled unit, where she gained extensive experience in the management of complex disability. Her work on the care pathways and experience of people with disabilities in hospital has been published in the British Medical Journal and elsewhere. Her role as coordinator of the MND Care Centre in Oxford, initially a 2-year secondment, has been so challenging both personally and professionally that Rachael has continued. She has recently completed her BA (Hons) degree in Rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University and is currently studying for an MSc in Rehabilitation Medicine.