A local charity founded in February 2016 by Chris Blake has raised an amazing ?100,000 in its first 18 months. The Manx MSA Trust has raised the funds through lots of different funds raising events, ranging from poker tournaments, a summer ball, the parish walk, fun fitness events and many more.

Chris Blake founded the charity after being diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy, (MSA) a degenerative neurological disorder at the age of just 39. The diagnosis took 5 years to confirm, partly because it's such a rare disorder and not very well known, particularly in the Isle of Man. All the funds go straight to the charity's aims, which are providing a hub for IOM patients and families, raising awareness, particularly among the medical profession in IOM and supporting research to find an early diagnosis, through a simple blood test.

Niall Carey, Head of Communications for the charity said: "We are delighted that we have managed to raise such a huge amount in such a short space of time. We are eternally grateful to all our supporters, in particular, Pokerstars Helping Hands, Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank and the many many other supporters who give their time and donations to support us. We have now used some of these funds to support a 12 month research project to find an earlier diagnosis, through a blood test. Together with Courtney Heading at Jurby Wellness, we have put together a team of experts, including University College London, Protein Technologies, CynapseDX & Liverpool Biobank for this research and we hope to have some preliminary results in the next few months".

Photo - l-r Nicola Blake, Director, Chris Blake, Founder, Nially Carey, Head of Communications, Al Clague, Director, Manx MSA Trust.