A major new research project on motor neurone disease (MND) will see researchers from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) travelling to Latin America to try to determine whether mixed ancestry may protect people from developing this disease.

MND is a neurological condition in which there is progressive degeneration of the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurones are the nerve cells that control muscles, and their degeneration leads to weakness and wasting of these muscles.

This causes an increasing loss of mobility in the limbs and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing.

Previous studies by TCD researchers suggest that the incidence of MND is lower in populations with mixed ancestral backgrounds, such as African American and Hispanic populations.

This new project aims to test the theory that mixed ancestry may offer a protective effect when it comes to the development of MND. This will be done by establishing new registers of the incidence, prevalence and risk factors for the disease in three Latin American countries - Uruguay, Chile and Cuba.

These three countries are of particular interest because a high percentage of their populations come from a mixed ancestral background. For example, 85% of the population of Uruguay is of European extraction and in Cuba, the population is of Spanish, American and African American origin.

"This project is the culmination of our painstaking work over the past 16 years that has challenged conventional wisdom that MND is the same the world over. Demonstrating and understanding the reasons for the real differences across populations of different ancestral origin will help us to unlock the mysteries of this tragic illness.

"Our research will allow us to find new and more effective drugs by comparing the different clinical and genetic profiles, and identifying and targeting pathways that increase the risk of developing disease," explained Prof Orla Hardiman, professor of neurology in TCD and director of the national specialist clinic for MND at the National Neuroscience Centre in Beaumont Hospital.

The study has received over €700,000 funding form the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This marks the first time the US has provided federal funding to permit any type of study in Cuba.

The researchers noted that while Ireland and Cuba are both small island nations, Cuba is completely different to Ireland in terms of the high level of mixed ancestral backgrounds. Ireland, on the other hand, has quite a simple genetic substructure.

It is envisaged that the new data from Latin America will provide crucial data to test the theory that mixed ancestry may reduce the risk of developing MND.

"Ireland has the longest running MND register in the world, and the Irish MND research team is internationally recognised as a strong leader in clinical and epidemiological research. The funding provided by the CDC is in recognition of this international standing," Prof Hardiman added.