The latest in the National MS
Society’s investment to drive innovative MS research and treatments includes
$24 million in new funding. These 61 new projects range from basic studies of
cell processes and genes to the development of rehabilitation techniques and
clinical trials.
“In total this year, the Society
hopes to spend some $50 million to fund 440 new and ongoing MS research
projects,” John R. Richert, MD, who leads the Society’s research and clinical
programs, said. “This investment is crucial if we’re to speed the day when the
world is free from MS.”
Read a sample of the new projects
below, or download a complete
report (.pdf).
Nervous System Repair: An
internationally recognized team led by Gianvito Martino, MD (from Fondazione
Centro San Raffaele, Milan) continues efforts to repair the nervous system with
a new two-year grant. Our brains have natural pools of repair cells, and Dr.
Martino is exploring factors that control when and how they come into play
after damage, such as that which occurs in MS. This study should provide
important insight for future clinical trials of tissue repair strategies in MS.
Read more about research to
repair the nervous system in MS.
Structural Basis of Memory
Problems: During a three-year research grant, Michael Phillips, MD (from the
Cleveland Clinic Foundation) is using high-tech imaging, called DTI, to
investigate the relationship between damage to the hippocampus (a structure
deep in the brain known to be critical for memory) and the cognitive impairment
often experienced by people with MS. This project should help establish ways of
detecting nervous system damage leading to memory problems, and may lead to new
treatment approaches. Read more about
research on psychosocial aspects of MS.
Probing the Immune Attack: With a
new three-year grant, John Dystel MS Research Prize winner Howard L. Weiner, MD
(from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston) is exploring differences in the
immune attack that could underlie different forms of MS. His team is using
“antigen microarray,” a new tool for taking high-throughput snapshots of immune
response patterns. So far, they’ve spotted specific antibody patterns that
appear to be linked to disease progression and response to therapy. This
cutting-edge study has the potential to bring new insight to immune
abnormalities in MS, and to new treatment approaches. Read more
about studies on the immune system in MS.
Understanding Progressive
Disability: Dennis Bourdette, MD (from Oregon Health & Science University
in Portland) is leading a five-year Collaborative MS Research Center. The team
is exploring the possibility that malfunctioning mitochondria — tiny energy-producing
batteries of cells — play a role in the loss of nerve fibers (axons) in MS. The
team is researching the interplay of factors that may lead to the loss of axons
that is responsible for long-term disability in MS. Ultimately, they hope to
develop and test therapies that reverse mitochondrial dysfunction, thereby
preventing disease progression. Read more about research on
MS progression. Centers such as this one foster large-scale coalitions
between MS experts and those from other fields and diseases to make rapid and
meaningful progress. Read about all 14
Society-funded Collaborative MS Centers.