Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has allocated to research into Multiple System Atrophy.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and has funded a range of research through the NIHR infrastructure policy programmes, including research into multiple system atrophy (MSA). This research includes testing new treatments that could slow down or stop disease progression, developing better ways to diagnose the disease earlier and more accurately, and understanding how health and care services work so that people receive better support after diagnosis and improved end-of-life care.

MSA is a rare neurodegenerative condition and is therefore frequently studied alongside related atypical Parkinsonian syndromes and broader neurodegenerative disorders. In the last five financial years, from 2020/21 to 2024/25, through the NIHR, the Department committed £1.96 million for new research projects into MSA. This is alongside wider support to NIHR research infrastructure.