J K Rowling marks start for clinic

The author J K Rowling will bury a time capsule to mark the start of building work on a new research clinic.

The clinic at the University will be for patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.

It is being set up following a £10 million donation from Ms Rowling and is named after the Harry Potter author’s mother, Anne, who died of multiple sclerosis aged 45.

Time capsule

The time capsule will contain accounts from patients living with multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.

It will also contain contributions from clinicians on current treatments and their hopes for the future.

I am both delighted and moved to be marking the start of the official building work for the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic. This time capsule captures how it is for people living with MS and other neurodegenerative diseases right now, and the current state of research. I believe that this clinic will have a huge positive effect on both of those areas in the future. I am enormously impressed in what has gone into setting up the clinic so far, and I look forward to seeing it completed and making further great strides in research and treatment.

Research

The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will focus on clinical research.

This will be targeted at the discovery of treatments that will slow progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

The ultimate ambition is to repair damage caused by such conditions

All patients with these tough diseases need treatments that will slow, stop and ideally reverse damage. This clinic will pioneer a range of studies that over time will improve patients’ lives through innovative clinical research.

Neurodegenerative diseases

In addition to looking at multiple sclerosis, work at the clinic will also seek to provide insight into conditions.

These include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and motor neurone disease.

The clinic will be housed in a purpose-built University facility alongside the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France, within Edinburgh BioQuarter.

Collaboration

The new clinic, due to be operational in 2012, follows on from the setting up of the Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research - also at Little France - in 2007.

Clinical academics will work closely with existing neurodegenerative disorder researchers at the University.

This include experts from the Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research, the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, the Centre for Neuroregeneration, the Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research and the Division of Clinical Neuroscience