MS is a disabling disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. Up to 65% of people living with MS will experience changes in how their brains process information such as difficulties in memory recall, problem-solving and processing speed (speed of thinking). As healthcare and MS treatments improve, the number of older people living with MS continues to grow. There is very little research on how memory and speed of thinking change as people living with MS grow older.
Dr Daniel Merlo’s research project aims to use digital tests that can be completed on a tablet or smartphone to measure changes in areas of thinking, such as memory, in people living with MS over the age of 50. Dr Merlo and his research team will look at the differences in thinking between people diagnosed with MS later in life (over the age of 50), compared to those diagnosed at a younger age. They also aim to identify changes in clinical or brain imaging features that predict if memory or speed of thinking will decline as people living with MS get older.
Increasing the knowledge on how thinking changes as people living with MS age will provide more information to doctors and their patients to be able to make informed shared care decisions.
$225,000
2025
3 years
Current project