Latest News
National Health and Medical Research Council announces funding for MS Research
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently announced the successful Australian research projects and fellowships awarded funding for 2016.
A total of six new MS research projects were announced in this year’s funding round, bringing over $3.2 million of funding for...
Young People in Nursing Homes
Young people affected by MS in, or at risk of placement in residential aged care, should be supported to live in the community in their own homes with the care and supports they require.
In particular, young people with MS need an integrated housing and support model that...
Melbourne woman raises awareness of the invisible symptoms of MS
Melbourne woman Justine Van Den Borne has been hugely successful in raising awareness of MS and its invisible symptoms in the Australian media during the past week. Following an incident whereby a stranger posted a note on her car - parked in a disabled bay - asking if she ‘forgot her...
Adelaide researchers identify key protein driving immune response in MS
Researchers from the University of Adelaide have identified a key protein on the surface of cells that controls the immune attack in MS. The research focuses on the movement of immune cells into the brain and spinal cord in MS, the vital first stage before immune cells attack myelin. Until now,...
Talking to people with MS about the NDIS
Nearly 400 people living with multiple sclerosis are recipients of an NDIS plan and have given us positive feedback in terms of the outcomes for themselves, their family and for the way they live life.
Over the last 2 years the focus of the NDIS has been very much on getting people with a...
TV programme 60 minutes discusses stem cells
60 Minutes Australia aired a story last night on an allegedly fraudulent Doctor performing medical procedures, including ‘stem cell therapy’ overseas. He has been making money by flying people with conditions such as MS and MND overseas to undergo stem cell treatment, promising them it will slow...
Keep those struggling at front and centre of GST debate
Discussions about the Goods and Services Tax in the media lately have in many cases failed to place the GST in the much needed, broader tax debate. We keep being diverted about possible GST rates of 12% and 15% and indeed 20% along with a notion that increasing the GST will fix most, if not all...
'Healthcare needs a shake up' a survey by the Consumers Health Forum shows
A survey published today by the Consumers Health Forum of more than 1,000 respondents has highlighted the need for a review and shake-up of the way chronic conditions are treated in Australia...
MS National Advocates Conference 2015
From 12-14 October, MS Australia held its annual National Advocates Conference in Canberra. A total of 11 Advocates joined forces to advance MSA’s advocacy priorities for the upcoming year while also meeting with key policy makers to profile issues currently facing more than 23,000 Australians...
Mythbuster – are participants in the NDIS means tested?
In the first of our ‘mythbusters’ we address the confusion some people have expressed around whether the NDIS is ‘means tested’. It’s an important question as it could affect whether or not someone receives any support at all.
The definition of ‘means tested’ is the determination of...
Medicinal marijuana to be legalised in Victoria
Locally-grown medicinal cannabis will be legalised in Victoria, under a State Government move to ease the suffering of people with serious medical conditions. Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year establishing the Office of Medicinal Cannabis, which will oversee research,...
Promising results for ocrelizumab in primary progressive MS
Genentech, a biotechnology company owned by Roche Pharmaceuticals, has announced promising results from a phase III clinical trial of experimental therapy ocrelizumab in people with primary progressive MS.
In a ...