“We have invested millions of pounds into motor neurone disease research – leading to major advances in how the disease is understood – and we remain committed to spending at least another £50 million to help find a cure to this awful illness.The Institute referred Tortoise to the Department of Health and Social Care, who gave us a statement. MND campaigners say only big investment can stop the disease altogether. And they funded clinical trials of the drugs Tofersen and Triumeq, both potential MND inhibitors – but not cures. The National Institute spent £3.2 million on MND research last year from existing funds. It’s the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s job to distribute the £50 million made available by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) but the application process is complicated. Public awareness is catching up with the MND community’s anger. MND, a brutal neurodegenerative illness known in America as Lou Gehrig’s disease, afflicts 5,000 people a year in the UK but has been a strangely low-profile killer. Underlying all the camaraderie has been mounting frustration with the government. MND sufferers and their families lined the roads in solidarity. Weir had raised £8 million for MND care and Sinfield, Burrow’s former captain at Leeds Rhinos, has passed £7 million after taking on three extreme challenges.Īll along Sinfield’s Ultramarathon route from Murrayfield to Old Trafford feelings ran high. That morning he had defied the urgings of Kevin Sinfield’s 7 ultramarathons team to stay at home and turned out to send them on their way on a cold dark Edinburgh morning. Weir’s legs twitched and his face betrayed recent further ravages from infections. Wearing his own Doddie tartan, he was wheeled onto the pitch by his sons Hamish, Angus and Ben, as both sets of players, all of them emotional, formed a horseshoe around him to applaud. New Zealand game at Murrayfield 19 days ago. The last public sighting of Weir was before the Scotland vs.

I’m sorry to say, how many more warriors die before this stupid government give the 50m they said they would give.” Burrow had previously accused the government of having “blood on their hands.” Rugby league’s Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed in December 2019, tweeted through his Eye Gaze dictation device: “So sad to hear the news of the passing of my MND hero Doddie Weir.

Murrayfield idol, farmer and wit, Weir was a campaigner against the neurological disorder that seems ominously common in rugby.Īfter the sorrow came indignation, directed at the government, who pledged £50 million 12 months ago for research to find a cure but haven’t yet channelled any of it from the new fund. Stephanie Rappart, of France, and assistant referees, Brazilian Neuza Back and Mexican Karen Diaz Medina refereed Germany’s ultimately futile victory over Costa Rica.ĭoddie Weir’s death at 52 from motor neurone disease stirred anger as well as grief. For the first time at a men’s World Cup, an all-women team officiated.A controversial goal helped Japan to beat Spain, top their qualifying group, and eliminate Germany from the World Cup in Qatar (more below).Four batsmen made centuries on the first day as England returned to play Test cricket in Pakistan for the first time in 17 years with a record-breaking score.

Angry giant turtles