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Summary: One of the unmet needs is a better understanding of, and treatment options for, progression in MS. While current therapies in MS aim to slow the progression of the disease, there are no treatment options that successfully alter the trajectory of progression. A key to altering progression in... Read the full article
Summary: In multiple sclerosis (MS), damage to nerve fibers and death of neurons occurs in the brain and spinal cord. The molecules regulating this destruction in MS are unknown. The research team will: Evaluate how two molecules, previously identified to play a role in damage to nerve fibers and death... Read the full article
Summary: VGF is a molecule that is induced during exercise and is shown to increase myelination. VGF also promotes the maturation of myelin-producing cells called oligodendrocytes. VGF interacts with macrophages/microglia- immune cells that can be both detrimental and beneficial in multiple sclerosis... Read the full article
Summary: Age is a key factor associated with progression from relapsing to progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Destructive oxygen radicals are activated in MS and may play a role in age-dependent injury. How they are activated and cause injury is unknown. The research team will: Examine aging-enhanced... Read the full article
Summary: One type of immune cell, call the B cell, can have either anti- or pro-inflammatory properties. The function of the B cell is also thought to be influenced by microbes in the gut microbiome. B cells function is believed to be compromised in multiple sclerosis (MS) and how the gut microbiome... Read the full article
Summary: Inflammasomes are protein complexes in the immune system that are activated by infection. These complexes are also activated in multiple sclerosis (MS) and promote inflammation and brain injury. The factors regulating inflammasomes in progressive MS are unclear. The research team will: Identify... Read the full article
Summary: B cells have a dual role in multiple sclerosis (MS). A subset of B cells slow the disease course in MS while another subset have detrimental effects on MS. The gut microbiome is the richest source of B cells. The role of a subset of B cells, called plasma cells, found in the gut microbiome... Read the full article
Summary: Chronic pain, impacting more than 50% of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), is associated with inflammation in the brain and spinal cord in MS as well circadian (24-hour) rhythms. Early research has identified a role for circadian rhythms in disease progression in MS, however, whether... Read the full article
Summar y: This research aims to understand astrocytes, a type of cell found in the brain named for their star-like appearance and investigates their conribution to MS disease processes and progression. Astrocytes are the most abundant cell types in the central nervous system (CNS) and are known to respond... Read the full article
Summary: The molecule, interleukin (IL)-1ß, has been identified as a key messenger involved in the development and severity of central nervous system autoimmunity. IL-1ß may be acting like a key that opens the door to the central nervous system, allowing entry of aggressive immune cells in to the brain... Read the full article
Summary: This research aims to explore how MS is initiated and hypothesizes that MS starts as a degenerative disorder and then leads to an aggressive autoimmune attack against nerve fibers in the brain resulting in inflammatory ‘plaque’. To test this hypothesis, the group has developed a new animal... Read the full article
Summary: Myelin is a fatty substance that protects nerve cells and acts to enhance their signal transmission. MS results from abnormal activity of the immune system whereby the body’s own immune cells target and damage myelin and myelin-producing cells called oligodendrocytes located in the central... Read the full article
Summary: The goal of the research is to better understand the role of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) in the development and progression of MS. EBV is a common virus that infects people in childhood or early adulthood and remains quiet (causes a latent EBV infection) in our immune system. Project Description:... Read the full article
Summary: Western diet, obesity and related comordities are risk factors for MS onset and progression. Scientific evidence shows that restricting intake of methionine, an essential amino acid found in high-levels in meat-based diets, is associated with a prolonged lifespan (anti-aging), slower cancer... Read the full article
Summary: There is a need to find new and effective drugs that will stop MS disease progression. Recent research has implicated a protein structure called the ‘inflammasome’, a group of proteins that assemble within the brains of MS patients and significantly contributes to both inflammation and cell... Read the full article
Summary: Autoreactive immune cells called T cells play a central role in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and MS-like animal models (EAE mouse model). To perform their role, T cell activity is regulated by dendritic cells (DC). Recently, the team found a novel cell-surface protein of unknown... Read the full article
Summary: MS results from abnormal activity of the immune system whereby the body’s own immune cells target and damage myelin (the outer protective coating of nerve fibers) and myelin-producing cells called oligodendrocytes located in the central nervous system. Regeneration of oligodendrocytes and subsequent... Read the full article
Background: A current limitation in multiple sclerosis (MS) care is the ability to accurately predict whether a person’s MS will worsen and when, since the disease trajectory differs for each individual with MS. Being able to better predict a person’s disease trajectory can influence the healthcare... Read the full article
Background: A person’s sex is an important, yet complex factor in the development and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). Current evidence indicates that 75% of people in Canada living with MS are women - women are three times more likely to develop MS than men, while men with MS progress more rapidly... Read the full article
Background: Many of the current treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) modulate the immune system and are generally ineffective at treating progressive forms of the disease. Nerve cell degeneration and death in the brain and spinal cord underlie progressive forms of the disease and disability in MS, Read the full article
Background: To develop more effective treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers require a better understanding of the biological processes that lead to susceptibility and progression, as well as animal models that emulate human disease. Unlike relapsing-remitting MS, progressive MS is not... Read the full article
Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the insulation around the nerve fibres, known as myelin, becomes damaged by the immune system. This damage can result in loss of muscle control and partial paralysis. Oligodendrocytes are a specialized cell type that produce myelin sheaths around... Read the full article
Background: Myelin, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibres, is necessary for the transmission of nerve impulses in the body. In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), the immune system attacks myelin, causing inflammation and often damaging the myelin coating. The brain possesses the capacity... Read the full article
Background: With the development of new disease modifying therapies that target immune system cells called ‘B cells,’ it has become increasingly important to better understand the role of B cells in multiple sclerosis (MS). While we understand that B cells are important drivers of MS pathology, its... Read the full article
Summary: The onset of MS prior to age 18, during pivotal periods of cognitive maturation and development, has a profound impact on the child and their family. A fundamental unmet need is to understand the impact of pediatric-onset MS (POMS) and the recently identified myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein... Read the full article
Summary: There is an unmet need for effective and safe interventions to promote remyelination in MS. Remote ischemic preconditioning (REIP) is a non-pharmacologic intervention that has been shown to be neuroprotective in pre-clinical and clinical studies of central nervous system injury. It consists... Read the full article
Summary: Microglia cells use special energy as part of their metabolism to remove damaged myelin from the brain and allow remyelination to occur. However, during MS, myelin removal by microglia becomes less effective due to the changes in cellular metabolism. This research will closely examine the energy... Read the full article
Summary: Damage to myelin and the underlying nerve fibers (also called axons) may contribute to progression in MS. This research aims to develop a single novel MRI technique that can identify the different types of tissue damage in MS (myelin and axonal damage). This research may help to identify non-invasive... Read the full article
Summary: Being overweight as an adolescent is associated with an increased risk of MS in females. Previous work from Dr. Shannon Dunn’s research team discovered that obese female mice with MS like disease develop a more severe disease course and exhibit increased levels of pro-inflammatory T cells... Read the full article
Summary: Dr. Moore and team hypothesize that certain components of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) are damaged by inflammation early in MS, therefore allowing toxic substances in the blood to continuously enter the cerebrospinal fluid causing damage to myelin, myelin producing cells (oligodendrocytes), Read the full article
Summary: People with radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) present with characteristic lesions seen in MS, but without having the typical MS symptoms. Since many people with RIS eventually develop MS, RIS can be thought of as a pre-symptomatic MS or a very early stage of MS. As part of this research... Read the full article
Summary: Ependymal cells are important cells that line the fluid-filled spaces in the brain and regulate what flows in and out of the brain tissue. In MS, these cells may not be functioning well or are completely lost. As part of this research, Dr. Stratton and team will investigate how ependymal cells... Read the full article
Summary: This research will develop a cuprizone mouse model that recapitulates many aspects of progressive MS. Dr. Stys and team will apply advanced microscopic analysis, brain MRI and behavioural testing to better understand the tissue-level changes and mechanisms associated with degeneration. Results... Read the full article
Summary: There is a need for targeted therapies that can enhance repair of myelin, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibres that can become damaged or lost in people with MS. Dr. Verge and team will use a non-invasive therapy called acute intermittent hypoxia or AIH, where intermittent periods... Read the full article
Summary: This project aims to uncover novel mediators of ‘compartmentalized inflammation’, a process thought to contribute to disability progression in MS. Dr. Gommerman and team will examine a type of cell called fibroblasts and their interaction with specific immune cells termed Tertiary Lymphoid... Read the full article
