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Multiple Sclerosis Australia, or MS Australia, is a national non-profit organization that coordinates and allocate funds to multiple sclerosis research in Australia. [1] [2]
MS Australia was established in 2004 by founding chair Simon McKeon. McKeon handed over to current chair Paul Murnane in 2010 but still remains the organization's patron. [3] Founding CEO Jeremy Wright handed over to the current CEO, Matthew Miles in 2013. MS Australia was created as an MS-specific national research initiative that fought to utilize the Australian science community, and to provide a collaborative approach to MS research. [4]
MS Australia is a managing member of the International Progressive MS Alliance, [5] which focuses on progressive multiple sclerosis. [6] [7]
The organization is also a contributor to the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), based in London. [8]
More than $36.7 million has been awarded to 254 MS research projects across both Australia and New Zealand since the organization's establishment in 2004. [9]
MS Australia provided funding for a trial to test whether vitamin D supplementation can prevent MS in those who are at risk of developing the disease. [10] This study had similar results to an earlier study published in Neurological Research International. [11]
The organization supported the Australian-New Zealand MS Genetics Consortium, which in 2009 discovered two of the key risk genes in MS [12] and subsequently contributed to the International MS Genetics Consortium, that has now discovered over 200 genes that contribute to the risk of developing MS. [13]
In 2017, research funded by the organization discovered a possible molecular pathway (the kynurenine pathway) for MS progression, the activation of which may be involved in MS progression. This pathway has already been implicated in other neurological disorders, and further study is ongoing. [14]
In the same year, Macquarie University declared that through research enabled by MS Australia, "One of the early and ongoing supporters of this work," the University discovered the first blood biomarker for MS. The blood test developed by Macquarie University researchers can distinguish between relapsing and progressive forms of MS with 85-90% accuracy, and the University is hopeful that a clinical blood test could be available within two years. [15]
Also in 2017, MS Australia co-founded a three-year, $750,000 multiple sclerosis paired research fellowship, funding a senior laboratory research fellow and senior MS clinician at the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, with the aim of furthering research into developing treatments for MS. [16]
MS Australia launched a global fundraising campaign, Kiss Goodbye to MS, in 2012. [24] The campaign, which MSI says is the first truly international fundraising campaign for MS, [25] [26] was launched to both advance public awareness of the disease, and to raise funds for ongoing research. Since the establishment of the campaign, Kiss Goodbye to MS is now operating in over 15 different countries and is the only global campaign dedicated solely to fundraising for MS research. [27] [26]
In keeping with their collaborative ethos, MS Australia funds and supports a number of MS research collaborations. These platforms, often national in reach, exist to fill gaps in knowledge about specific areas and priority interests for people affected by MS. [28]
Some of these collaborations are:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to transmit signals, resulting in a range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental, and sometimes psychiatric problems. Specific symptoms can include double vision, vision loss, eye pain, muscle weakness, and loss of sensation or coordination. MS takes several forms, with new symptoms either occurring in isolated attacks or building up over time. In the relapsing forms of MS, between attacks, symptoms may disappear completely, although some permanent neurological problems often remain, especially as the disease advances. In the progressive forms of MS, bodily function slowly deteriorates and disability worsens once symptoms manifest and will steadily continue to do so if the disease is left untreated.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society is the UK's largest charity for people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Based in London, it has offices and local groups in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It gained charitable company status in 2010.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1946.
Alastair James Hignell is an English former rugby union international, first–class cricketer, and broadcaster.
The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) was established in 1967 as an international body linking the activities of various national MS societies. The federation seeks to partner with member societies and the international scientific community to eliminate multiple sclerosis and its consequences, and to advocate for those affected by multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Several therapies for it exist, although there is no known cure.
Sortilin-related receptor, L(DLR class) A repeats containing is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SORL1 gene.
Ocrelizumab, sold under the brand name Ocrevus, is a medication used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). It is a humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. It targets CD20 marker on B lymphocytes and is an immunosuppressive drug. Ocrelizumab binds to an epitope that overlaps with the epitope to which rituximab binds.
25-Hydroxyvitamin D 1-alpha-hydroxylase also known as calcidiol 1-monooxygenase or cytochrome p450 27B1 (CYP27B1) or simply 1-alpha-hydroxylase is a cytochrome P450 enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CYP27B1 gene.
Research in multiple sclerosis may find new pathways to interact with the disease, improve function, curtail attacks, or limit the progression of the underlying disease. Many treatments already in clinical trials involve drugs that are used in other diseases or medications that have not been designed specifically for multiple sclerosis. There are also trials involving the combination of drugs that are already in use for multiple sclerosis. Finally, there are also many basic investigations that try to understand better the disease and in the future may help to find new treatments.
Dirucotide (also known as MBP8298) was developed by two research scientists (Dr. Kenneth G. Warren, MD, FRCP(C) & Ingrid Catz, Senior Scientist) at the University of Alberta for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Dirucotide is a synthetic peptide that consists of 17 amino acids linked in a sequence identical to that of a portion of human myelin basic protein (MBP). The sequence of these 17 amino acids is
Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency is a term invented by Italian researcher Paolo Zamboni in 2008 to describe compromised flow of blood in the veins draining the central nervous system. Zamboni hypothesized that it might play a role in the cause or development of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zamboni also devised a surgical procedure which the media nicknamed a liberation procedure or liberation therapy, involving venoplasty or stenting of certain veins. Zamboni's ideas about CCSVI are very controversial, with significantly more detractors than supporters, and any treatments based on his ideas are considered experimental.
Stephen L. Hauser is a professor of the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) specializing in immune mechanisms and multiple sclerosis (MS). He has contributed to the establishment of consortia that have identified more than 50 gene variants that contribute to MS risk.
Terry Lynn Wahls is a physician who was an assistant chief of staff at Iowa City Veterans Administration Health Care and is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa. She has a private practice and conducts clinical trials. She was diagnosed with a chronic progressive neurological disorder and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
David A. Hafler is an American neurologist. He is the Edgerly Professor and chairman of the department of Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine. He is known for his work in immunity, genetics, and multiple sclerosis. In 2018 he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
There are several ways for pharmaceuticals for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) to reach the market.
George Jelinek is an Australian doctor who is professor and founder, Neuroepidemiology Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. This unit expressly evaluates modifiable risk factors that predict the progression of Multiple sclerosis. He has served since 2017 as the Chief Editor for Neuroepidemiology in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, and he was Founding Editor – and is currently the Editor Emeritus – for Emergency Medicine Australasia. Jelinek also has the distinction of being the first Professor of Emergency Medicine in Australasia. Between 1987 and 2018, he published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, seven book forewords and eight books, and received more than 20 research grants. He is a frequent invited speaker.
Gilles J. Guillemin is an Australian neuroscientist. He received the Ordre national du Mérite in 2019 in recognition of his work in medical research. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2021.
Multiple Sclerosis Australia, commonly referred to as MS Australia, is a prominent national non-profit organization with a primary focus on research and advocacy in support of individuals affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This organization achieved official registration as a charitable entity in Australia in the year 1975. There are over 25,000 people living with MS in Australia and MS Australia serves as the peak body for all Australians living with or otherwise affected by MS.
Graeme John Stewart,, MB BS, PhD, FRACP, FRCPA is an Australian consultant physician, medical researcher in the field of immunology, and a community health advocate. He is Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney.