Student’s petition on muscular dystrophy (From Swindon Advertiser)

Student’s petition on muscular dystrophy

9:09am Wednesday 28th June 2006 in News

RESEARCH student Mike Gibson is to meet North Swindon MP Michael Wills after presenting a petition to Downing Street calling for more cash for muscular dystrophy treatment.

Mr Gibson, pictured, who was born with Duchenne Muscular Distrophy, is part of a group asking for £20m to be spent transforming laboratory research in to viable treatments.

Mr Gibson, a PhD student at Shrivenham Military College, said there was the chance that new "genetic patch" treat ments could slow or reverse the fatal condition.

Muscular dystrophy is a group of conditions that lead to gradually weakening muscles and, in Duchenne cases, death.

"There's no treatment," Mr Gibson, of Faringdon, said.

"At 12 I lost the ability to walk.

"At 24, I have spent half of my life in a wheelchair. Because it weakens all the muscles, I can't brush my hair, I can't dress myself."

He said the genetic patch needed toxicology testing, which was expensive.

"It doesn't fully cure the condition but it may slow it down, which with a fatal condition is what you want."

Mr Gibson will present a petition calling for the extra Government money at Downing Street and the Department of Health before meeting Mr Wills.