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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 our lab, to examine disease progression.
Professor Alexander Klistorner, and co-investigator, Professor Michael Barnett have made significant progress and have completed enrolling a large cohort of people with SPMS.
The team have collected and analysed the initial data from the start of the study, which will provide a foundation for comparison as the study progresses. This analysis helps to find patterns and establish parameters against which the effectiveness of any interventions or the progression of the disease can be measured. Successfully conducting this analysis shows that the study has a solid groundwork for evaluating changes over time.
The majority of participants have completed their second year of testing. The team are using various imaging and electrophysiological techniques to examine the participants over time and are also developing new biomarkers (biological signs) to monitor disease progression.
They have also developed new approaches to measure the effect of chronic inflammation on brain volume and disease progression.
It is hoped these findings will pave the way for predicting who will likely experience faster disease progression, potentially resulting in a substantial change in the current concept of MS progression that will impact future development of treatment strategies.
Professor Klistorner has published this research in several research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Updated 31 March 2024
$642,000
2022
3 years
Current project
