This year, our new CEO, Andy Fletcher, invites you to support groundbreaking research into muscle wasting conditions. Your gift today can help transform the future for those affected.
Meet our CEO
Andy has spent 25 years in the voluntary sector – most recently, at a children’s palliative care charity – and has worked with young people with these conditions for over a decade.
“In that time, I’ve seen how tough life can be for them and their families – and right now, it’s never been tougher,” he said.
“The cost-of-living crisis has hit people with muscle wasting conditions harder than most, making it more expensive to travel to medical appointments, power specialist equipment like electric wheelchairs and pay for essential home adaptations.
“These increased costs – combined with cuts to the government support available – are piling on the pressure for many families and bringing yet more worry to their already stressful lives.”
Why is this important?
Andy is thrilled about the research projects we’re funding this year and the potential treatments that could emerge from this pioneering work.
“I’m thinking of projects like the one underway at University College London, where Professor Francesco Saverio Tedesco and his team are exploring whether the shape of the control centre of muscle cells impacts the storage of DNA in people with rare genetic disorders called laminopathies.”
“The project could help scientists better understand the causes of laminopathies, such as limb girdle muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and LMNA-related congenital muscular dystrophy.
“Ultimately, this research could help to develop new treatments to manage these conditions – transforming life for all those affected,” he said.
This kind of research relies on the generosity of people like you. Help drive these breakthroughs forward by giving a gift today.