Mitochondria are the life force inside us all, they are our power supply in our cells providing energy for them to fuel our organs.

 

Mitochondrial Disease is a relatively newly diagnosed disease - first recognised in an adult in the 1960s and in the 1980s in children

 

1 in 200 babies in the UK are born with genetic changes which can cause Mitochondrial Disease, that's a baby born every 30 minutes that could be diagnosed with this fatal disease

 

Faulty Mitochondria have been linked to many other common diseases and disorders such as diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, Cancer and Autism, amongst others

 

Mitochondrial disease can affect any organ of the body and at any age. Symptoms are extremely diverse and often progressive.

 

They include: strokes and seizures, muscle weakness, gastrointestinal disorders, swallowing difficulties, cardiac disease, liver disease, blindness and deafness and
susceptibility to infections.

 

There are very few effective treatments and no cure for Mitochondrial Disease at present, meaning that babies born with this disease have very little chance of survival

 

Great Ormond Street Hospital is at the forefront of Mitochondrial Disease with Professor Shamima Rahman leading the way in a bid to find better and less invasive diagnostic methods, effective treatments and a cure.