An Ode to the Androgen Receptor

I found this inspiring piece on the KDUK website this morning. Helen Devine found a way to help explain Kennedy’s Disease and the current research associated with this rare disorder.

When Research Meets Poetry

We have seen at first hand now passionate and driven the research team at UCL is. What we didn’t  Helen is at the front line in the fight against Kennedy's Disease, and to further raise awareness, she entered this poem in a Medical Research Council competition that sought creative writing from researchers that told readers '"Why does my research matter?' We at Kennedy's Disease UK were delighted that Helen was one of the 14 shortlisted finalists this year. Sadly, she didn’t win, but we feel she's a winner with this great explanation of Kennedy's Disease and the vital research she and the team are carrying out at University College London (UCL).

The Max Perutz Science Writing Award aims to encourage and recognize outstanding written communication among MRC PhD students. The annual competition challenges entrants to write an 800-word article for the general public answering tine question: 'Why does my research matter? This is Helen's fantastic entry.

An Ode to the Androgen Receptor

Neurodegenerative diseases

Occur when nerve cells die

We certainly know that it happens

But we aren't quite sure how or why

Parkinson's Disease would be easy

And Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s too

They're probably near the top of your list

If I asked you to name me a few.

But Spinal Bulbar Muscular Atrophy?

Not heard of it before?

There's something special about it,

Let me tell you a little bit more.

Weakness in the arms and legs

Make it tricky for patients to walk

Weakness in the face and tongue

Make it hard to swallow and to talk.

The faults in the Androgen Receptor

A particular genetic mutation

Male patients have the disease

Women pass it to the next generation.

When the receptor binds testosterone

The troubles really start

Patients get weakness, infertility

And problems in the heart_

The disease is slowly progressive

With no treatment and no cure

I'm hoping that might change

If I can understand it a little bit more.

So I'm going on a journey

To find out why these cells die

I am searching for the pathways

using microscopes and dyes.

The very first step is to find a way

To make a good human model

Studies from other cells and mice

May not snow the real disease problem.

Induced pluripotent stem cells

Are an exciting new innovation

Stem cells from patient skin cells

Have the androgen receptor mutation.

Motor nerves from stem cells

I grow them up in a dish

And once they are fully grown

I can study them with relish_

Stress, transport, mitochondria

Possible avenues to pursue

In the course of the research

I may find something new.

Stress is hard to deal with

In research and in a cell

I can go for a little jog

But a cell can't in a well.

So they have a special mechanism

The neat shock response its name

If this isn't working correctly

Then it may be to blame.

Axons carry the messages

One end of the cell to the other

A traffic jam in this transport

Can lead to a spot of bother,

Motor nerves are very long

So they are at great risk

If blockages and hold ups

Mean transport isn't brisk.

Mitochondria provide the energy

A cell needs to survive

If the fuel supply isn't good enough

Then the cell can start to die.

So if their shape is faulty

And they aren't working right

Tine cells start to malfunction

Pack up and say goodnight

If cell death is like a puncture

Discovering it is not enough

The next job is to fix it

And that can prove quite tough.

Motor neurons on a plate

Will be a way to screen

For a drug to reverse cell death;

That would De the dream.

SBMA is a rare disease

But patients still need a cure

I hope I can identify a good one

That's what my research is for.

The findings that I find

May also hold the key

To overall common pathways

In neurodegenerative disease.

My research is for patients with SBMA

For whom taking journeys is hard

And for whom it is a challenge
To read this poem out loud.