Katrina Jensen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in November 2023.
She is a patient at the MND clinic run by the Southern Adelaide Local Health Networks (SALHN) neurology team, which recently started a study - with support from the SALHN Research Hub - aiming to slow the effects of the disease.
Katrina was approached to take part in the trial as she had been recently diagnosed with MND and was not on any other medication for the disease.
The former primary school teacher of 41 years and avid hula hooper said she was always keen to take part in anything that enabled progress.
"The study will be interesting and hopefully very useful in understanding more about the disease and how to effectively treat it," Katrina said.
"The neurology team and I are learning on the job as we go, and they’re all incredibly nice and helpful."
During the trial, Katrina will be required to take daily pills which aim to repair links between neurons and restore communications function in her brain.
It is hoped that this will not only stop symptoms from progressing, but also lead to improvements in some functions that may have been lost including movement and speech.
SALHN's Head of Neurology Dr David Schultz said his team was "incredibly excited" to play its part in helping treat the disease.
"There is currently only one recommended medication with very moderate benefits," Dr Schultz said.
"We hope to recruit around eight participants to take part in the trial and lead the way in finding new treatments, and hopefully one day a cure, for this life-threatening disease."
If successful, the drug may also help patients with other conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia by regrowing the connections between neurons.
Over the next 12-months the mobility, brain and lung function of trial participants will be assessed, initially at weekly visits and then moving to monthly, with findings reported back to the pharmaceutical manufacturer.
The trial is being undertaken in Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney with a total of 24 patients set to take part, with one in three being given a placebo.
For more information, visit SALHN Research Hub.
This article was originally published on SA Health's website and has been republished here with permission.
