Treatment of MS has changed dramatically over the past decade with improvements to the number of available drug therapies and timely standards for monitoring disease activity. While the initial focus is on treatment choice, discussions around brain-healthy lifestyle management, with referral to services that support lifestyle modifications, are suggested within three months of diagnosis. This represents a critical window for protective lifestyle interventions to delay the progression of MS and to maximise overall brain health.
Combining treatment and lifestyle management to preserve brain tissue and optimise brain health is endorsed by the international MS Brain Health initiative. Lifestyle factors such as cardiovascular fitness, avoiding smoking and limiting the use of alcohol have been prioritised to maximise lifelong brain health for people living with MS (plwMS). Dietary guidance appears to be overlooked as an element of a brain-healthy lifestyle.
This project will explore the role of diet in a brain-healthy lifestyle for plwMS pertaining towards advancing understanding of the role of diet in MS disease progression, management and brain health. As no dietary guidelines have been established for plwMS, this project aimes to rationalise dietary choices and behaviours from the perspectives of both consumers and specialist clinicians involved in MS care. This will allow exploration of the connection between diet and brain health and how clinicians can further support lifestyle management. Increased knowledge on this topic may lead to targeted nutrition approaches for brain health including recommendations for plwMS, their carers and their families.
A scoping review of the literature highlighted the significance of prioritising brain health in the management of MS, both in terms of the disease itself and lifestyle choices that plwMS can make to maximise lifelong brain health.
Healthcare professionals play an important role in guiding plwMS towards brain health recommendations. As part of this project, Ms Olivia Wills interviewed 36 healthcare professionals to explore their current practices and views of their professional roles in this context. Healthcare professionals perceived their role encompassed empowerment, collaboration and communication, both with plwMS and across disciplines. However, the study revealed that lifestyle and brain health conversations between healthcare professionals and plwMS were largely limited by external factors such as time constraints, professional expertise, and consumer readiness.
In the final year of this project, Ms Wills and her team developed a framework for MS brain health. This framework helps healthcare professionals and plwMS apply brain health recommendations in clinical settings, promoting consistent MS care. It’s the first of its kind to be published internationally and provides behaviour change strategies to support its implementation.
This project contributes a valuable resource for healthcare and other professionals to begin incorporating lifestyle-related brain health-focused care into their discussions. The project also empowers plwMS to actively participate in their care.
Ms Wills finalised and submitted her PhD thesis at the end of 2024, ahead of schedule. She also participated in a working group to develop the “Brain Health: time matters” report, launched at the 2024 ECTRIMS congress. Ms Wills and her team have published several papers on this work.
Updated 31 March 2025
Penn Foundation
$70,000
2023
2 years
Current project
