Blog

This morning we left Cusco city early, and the comfort of our hotel, flushing toilets and civilisation! After a windy, hilly drive, we stopped at a stunning lookout, looking down into the Sacred Valley from a very different direction than that of yesterday. The first thing we all noticed was the significant drop in temperature, with snow capped mountains in the distance, wondering just what we’d signed ourselves up for! Our ne...xt stop was one we were not anticipating on the morning we were to commence The Inca Trail, for the next stop was at a pub!

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug Radicava (edaravone) to treat ALS/MND in the USA. Shown to slow progression in some people, it is the first drug to be approved for ALS in over 20 years (it is anticipated Radicava will be available in the U.S. by August 2017). In 2015, edaravone was approved for use as an ALS treatment in Japan (as Radicut) and South Korea. Radicava is administered through an intravenous infusion and not yet approved for use in Australia under our country's regulatory approval process for drugs. In this report we provide information about edaravone and the Australian context.

Today we really got immersed into Inca heritage, starting with a visit to Awana Kanchu, ‘the weaving place’. Not only did we learn about the importance of alpacas and llamas to Peruvian people historically and today, but we also got to meet and feed them! Some laughs were certainly had! We were given a demonstration as to how the the wool is dyed, then moved on to some examples of traditional vegetable based foods... Over 200 types of potato in Peru?! We didn’t see that one coming!

Researchers from King’s College London. Dr Bradley Smith and colleagues screened genetic data of an unusually high number of people of European origin finding that specific mutations in the ANXA11 gene are associated with around 1% of all familial ALS/MND and 1.7% of all sporadic ALS/MND cases. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is another great finding that can tell us more about the mechanisms of MND.

After a fairly early rise for breakfast and transit back to the airport to make the last of our flights into Cusco, we could do nothing but laugh when we got to the airport to find that our flight had just been delayed some two and a half hours! Many hours later, finally arriving at Cusco Airport, we were quite dazzled by the surrounding mountains; so large and yet seemingly so close! Transferred to our hotel with our local guide, Jaime, he managed to make seven very weary travellers laugh and smile all the drive long!