Mary M. Reilly FRCP is an Irish neurologist who works at

National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...

. She studies

peripheral neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

. She is the President of the

Association of British Neurologists Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

Early life and education

Reilly studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, graduating in 1986. She worked for a few years as a neurologist at St. Vincent's University Hospital, before joining

Anita Harding Anita Elizabeth Harding (17 September 1952 – 11 September 1995) was an Irish-British neurologist, and Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Institute of Neurology of the University of London. She is known for the discovery with Ian Holt ...

at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in 1991. Reilly has spoken of how much she admired her supervisor, and attributes her clinical interests to Harding. Reilly earned her

medical doctorate A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

in 1996, focussing on

familial amyloid polyneuropathy Familial amyloid polyneuropathy, also called hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR), or Corino de Andrade's disease, is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease. It is a form of amyloidosis, and was first identified and described by P ...

. She completed her neurological training at

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...

and

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, training with P. K. Thomas and Richard Hughes.

Career

At the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery Reilly specialises in inherited

neuropathies Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

. She was made consultant neurologist in 1998 and a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

in 2002. She began to study

neuromuscular disease A neuromuscular disease is any disease affecting the peripheral nervous system (PNS), the neuromuscular junctions, or skeletal muscles, all of which are components of the motor unit. Damage to any of these structures can cause muscle atrophy and we ...

, in particular

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited neurological disorder that affects the peripheral nerves responsible for transmitting signals between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body. This is the most common inherited neuropath ...

. In 2004, she found that

Vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

could be used to improve symptoms in

mouse model A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mod ...

s of CMT1A (Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 1A). She established a

randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical ...

with colleagues in Italy to evaluate the efficacy of Vitamin C on CMT1A. The UK part of the trial consisted of 50 participants, and found that whilst

is safe, it does not slow the progression of the disease. Although the trial was not a success, it developed new

neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

outcome measures. Her research includes the identification of genes such as

BICD2 Bicaudal D cargo adaptor 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BICD2'' gene. This gene is one of two human homologs of Drosophila bicaudal-D and a member of the Bicoid family. It has been implicated in dynein-mediated, minus end-di ...

and methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MARS); she has already conducted functional analysis of IGHMBP2. Reilly works with

Muscular Dystrophy UK About Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK) is a UK charity focusing on muscular dystrophy and related conditions. It works on behalf of those with over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions. For over 60 years, Muscular Dystrophy UK has been buil ...

on muscle-wasting conditions. She has also worked on new

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

s for disease progression. CMT parents suffer from damaged motor nerves, which results in muscles weakening, and ultimately allows fat to accumulate in muscles;

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

outcome measures could monitor

intramuscular fat Intramuscular fat (also known as intramuscular triglycerides, intramuscular triacylglycerol, or intramyocellular triacylglycerol ''IMTG is located inside skeletal muscle fibers. It is stored in lipid droplets that exist in close proximity to the m ...

accumulation, and detect muscle water changes that preceded fat accumulation. Reilly identified that calf muscle fat friction maps are an outcome measure in patients with CMT1A, with calf muscle fat increased significantly in patients with CMT1A She received a $1,000,000 grant from the

Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related Neuromuscular disease, neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived wi ...

to evaluate MRI protocols for monitoring changes in muscles from CMT. In 2010 Reilly was appointed Professor of Clinical Neurology at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. She leads the Division of Clinical Neurology and Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases. With the MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases and

, Reilly runs an annual translational neuromuscular diseases meeting, which includes a patient day to discuss inherited neuropathies. Along with CMT, Reilly has worked on hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies and

carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a nerve compression syndrome associated with the collected signs and symptoms of Pathophysiology of nerve entrapment#Compression, compression of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Carpal tunn ...

in inherited neuropathies. Reilly contributed to the 2013 ''Handbook of Clinical Neurology,'' and wrote a chapter for the 2016 Springer Publishing collection ''Neuromuscular Disease: Case Studies from Queen Square''. Reilly has served as President of the British Peripheral Nerve Society and the International Peripheral Nerve Society. In 2015 she was appointed President-elect of the Association of British Neurologists. She became the first woman to take the role in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Mary Women neurologists Irish women medical doctors Irish neurologists Irish women neuroscientists Alumni of University College Dublin Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland People from Belmullet Medical doctors from County Mayo 20th-century Irish medical doctors 21st-century Irish medical doctors 20th-century Irish women medical doctors 21st-century Irish women medical doctors