A Message From Our CEO
Our CEO, Karen Walker, shares a message with the MSA Community during MSA Awareness Week…
This week is Multiple System Atrophy Awareness week and we had much planned to help you raise awareness of the condition. Sadly, we now find ourselves in an even more difficult period, but I wanted to reassure you all that we are still here to support everyone affected by MSA.
We are indeed in challenging times, and our MSA Nurse Specialists are needed more than ever. We can’t currently meet with our community, to do that would be to put them at grave risk, but we can continue to support you over the telephone, on email and via online support at clinics. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team at support@msatrust.uk or call 0333 323 4591.
This may be a difficult time, but it will not stop us from ensuring we continue our work to support everyone affected by MSA: people with multiple system atrophy, their carers and their families. The Information and Services Team will be updating people regularly on how they can best keep themselves and loved ones safe during this time, and I am pleased to tell you that despite difficult financial times, we are committed to continuing to support all of the MSA community as much as we can. You can find out up to date information about Covid-19 here – https://www.msatrust.org.uk/support-for-you/coronavirus-covid-19/.
We are continuing our commitment to the research that is so vital to enable us to understand what causes MSA and how to develop a cure. We are doing this by progressing with our awards to four new research projects. Our Scientific Advisory Panel made their recommendations to the Trustee Board earlier this month of the projects they felt most worthy of funding and these projects will begin in the coming academic year. They will face some delay in start dates, as they will struggle to get the patient samples they need for each stage of their research, however with our support they will complete the projects and we will have added to the vital scientific and medical information required to enable the development of treatment therapies and that all important cure.
So, during MSA Awareness week, please do all you can to keep yourself safe and keep mentioning #MultipleSystemAtrophy in all your communications to others – we can all make a difference and help spread the word.
Karen Walker
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the blogs published on these pages are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the MSA Trust.
