Press Release Archive

14 November 2007 Darren Wins Fitness First Award: Inspirational Darran Winfield-Stanesby, from Mansfield has just returned from a lavish awards ceremony in London where he fought off over 1,200 entries to scoop the top prize at the Fitness First New You Achievement Awards.
1 November 2007 Quality Neurology: The MS Society, Parkinson’s Disease Society (PDS), Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association and Ataxia UK have joined together to develop an audit methodology based on the National Service Framework (NSF) for Long Term (neurological) Conditions (LTC) which will put people affected by long term conditions at the centre of the process
6 August 2007 Ataxia UK appoints new CEO: Ataxia UK is delighted to announce the appointment of Sue Millman to the position of CEO.
25 April 2007 New Clinical Guidelines: Ataxia UK has published a set of clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals, covering the diagnosis and management of progressive ataxias.
13 February 2007 Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital accredited: Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital was accredited as the North of England’s only Ataxia Centre of Excellence on 13 February 2007.
5 February 2007 - The October Club raises over half a million pounds for Ataxia UK: In 2006 The October Club chose Ataxia UK as the beneficiary of its annual fundraising activities which culminate with an auction and sell-out dinner at the Savoy Hotel. This event is the highlight of the social calendar for City trading houses and it raised a stunning £488,000, which, after Gift Aid has been claimed, should increase to £520,000.
17 June 2006 - Ataxia UK is The October Club’s Charity 2006: Ataxia UK is delighted to announce that it has been chosen by The October Club as the beneficiary of its annual fundraising activities. These culminate with an auction, held each October at a sell-out dinner at The Savoy. This event is the highlight of the social calendar for City trading houses. Last year more than £486,000 was raised.
28 March 2006 - Ataxia UK Branches Out: Tina Thatcher, formerly Development Officer for the Community Empowerment Network in Walsall in the West Midlands has been appointed to the newly created position of Branch Support and Development Officer at Ataxia UK. Tina has been employed in the third sector for over 15 years, working with many diverse groups across the Midlands.
23 December 2005 - Ryan's golden Christmas with David Beckam & Jonny Wilkinson: Ryan Gibbons, aged ten, had his dream come true when he met David Beckham and Jonny Wilkinson as part of an extra special Blue Peter show televised on Christmas Day 2005.
Great news from the Big Lottery Fund!: Ataxia UK has been awarded a grant of £187,087 by the Big Lottery Fund for a new branch and group support and development project which will commence in January 2006.
London Ataxia Centre Gains Accreditation as Centre of Excellence: Ataxia UK today accredited the London Ataxia Centre, which opened at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of University College London Hospital, in February 2005, following an award of £21,490 from Ataxia UK, as an ataxia centre of excellence.
25 September 2005 - Ataxia Awareness Day: The annual International Ataxia Awareness Day is being marked in the UK on Sunday 25 September 2005. The awareness day is designed to highlight the needs and problems faced by those with the ataxias - life-limiting neurological disorders that can affect people of any age.
22 September 2005 - Ataxia UK Scientific Conference: ‘Therapeutic approaches for the ataxias - molecular & cellular studies’

Ataxia UK held a one day conference for ataxia researchers in London on 21 September. Such a gathering of top scientists is an ideal opportunity to discuss best future approaches for treatments of the ataxias.
11 May 2005 - Joanna Lumley, Bounty Hunter: Thank you to our patron Joanna Lumley for taking part in Radio X-FM’s Bounty Hunter competition.
11 November 2004 - Ataxia UK webmaster wins site award: Katie Henderson, a webmaster of Ataxia UK, has won the Helping Hand section of NTL’s Best of British Broadband awards for the best website to support a charitable cause. Her website is
www.ohbother.co.uk. Her site was one of six shortlisted by judges, which went on to win by public vote.
15 September 2004 - 'Rare' ataxias may be more common than Huntington's Disease: New research suggests that ataxia, a little-known and devastating neurological condition, is significantly under-diagnosed in the UK and may be 4-8 times more prevalent than previously thought.
9 August 2004 - Gluten free diet may halt ataxia caused by gluten sensitivity: Gluten ataxia, cerebellar dysfunction caused by sensitivity to gluten, may be controlled by a strict gluten-free diet, researchers have concluded.
3 February 2004 - Research project may solve the riddle of Friedreich's Ataxia: Ataxia UK, the national charity for people affected by ataxias, has launched an appeal for £60,000 to fund a three year research project at Imperial College, London into Friedreich’s ataxia. The charity hopes that the project will eventually result in a treatment for the most common form of ataxia, which is currently incurable.
Frequently Asked Questions

For the latest news from Ataxia UK and to join our media mailing list, contact Ataxia UK Press Officer Barnaby Levy on 020 7582 1444 pressoffice@ataxia.org.uk.

Helpline: 0845 644 0606

Press Release Archive