Galway Bay FM Newsroom- A trust for late Tyrone footballer, Cormac McAnallen, is supporting research at NUI Galway into Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and the development of future genetic cures.
The University’s Regenerative Medicine Institute REMEDI has enrolled 20 patients into a programme analysing heart cells and causes of death.
The Cormac Trust was set up by Bridget and Brendan McAnallen after the sudden death of their son Cormac in March 2004, at 24 years of age.
Cormac - a well-known sportsman who won the All-Ireland Football Championship with Tyrone in 2003 - died from Long QT Syndrome, one of the most prevelant forms of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.
It's a heart rhythm condition that can potentially cause fast, chaotic heartbeats that can lead to fainting spells, seizures, or sudden death.
Support from The Cormac Trust is enabling researchers at NUI Galway to focus on the mechanism of the disease and the discovery of new treatments using stem cell technology, which allows researchers to grow heart cells in the lab.
Bridget McAnallen says Long QT Syndrome often has no symptoms and kills even the strongest and fittest young people without warning - and they're delighted a cure is now on the horizon.
Researcher Dr Terence Prendiville says sudden unexplained death in the young strikes approximately 160 families a year on the island of Ireland.
This is often the first time it come's to a family's medical attention and the condition may affect up to half of close relatives.
Dr Prendiville says the research at NUIG allows them for the first time to study heart cells - from someone who is alive or from someone who has died - to try and discover the cause of death, if unknown, and to develop genetic cures that will be the treatment of the future.
