MS is the most common cause of neurological disability in young adults. It is characterised by the development of lesions or spots of inflammation in the brain. While existing treatments radically reduce the risk of new lesions forming, they do not fully stop disease progression, suggesting that different disease activities are going on in the brain and spinal cord.
Clinical studies suggest that multiple mechanisms are implicated in the progression of the disease, particularly when MS progresses into secondary progressive MS (SPMS). It was suggested that chronic inflammation may make some of the nerve fibres more vulnerable to physiological stress. In addition to the damage at the site of lesions, these spots may induce damage in regions of the brain that are further away. However, clinical studies evaluating the role of these in progression of physical and cognitive disability in people with SPMS are lacking.
Therefore, the primary objective of the current project is to establish the role and predictive power of chronic lesions, “slow burning” inflammation and degeneration in progression of secondary progressive MS (SPMS). The research will use state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques, partly developed in Professor Alexander Klistorner’s lab, to examine disease progression.
Over the past year, Professor Klistorner and his team have completed enrolling the study’s participants, most of who have completed their final testing. Most of the MRI brain scans have been processed and data analysis has begun.
The team found that a part of the brain called the choroid plexus is often enlarged in people with progressive MS. This may be a sign of ongoing inflammation and could help track how the disease progresses.
The team also analysed changes in brain lesions over time. They found that some lesions slowly grow and that this growth is linked to brain volume loss and worsening symptoms. They also focused on a special type of lesion with a rim seen on MRI scans and found that these “rim lesions” appear when new lesions form. These rim lesions slowly fade as the new lesions age.
These discoveries are important because they help us better understand how MS progresses and how we might measure the effects of new treatments.
Updated 31 March 2025
$642,000
2022
3 years
Current project
