HC Deb 11 December 1973 vol 866 cc69-70W
24. Mr. Torney

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will give details of research, including cost, into the cause and possible treatment of muscular dystrophy.

Mrs. Thatcher

The Medical Research Council's Clinical Genetics Unit is carrying out genetic and biochemical studies on muscular dystrophy and, in addition to a wide range of basic neurological and muscular studies, the council is also supporting other research programmes on this disorder. Other research financed from public funds is carried out in universities and under the decentralised scheme for locally organised research in National Health Service hospitals. Much of the research forms part of wider studies in neuromuscular disorders and it is not possible to isolate expenditure on muscular dystrophy alone.