Momentum - Summer 2012

Now
Priorities for
funding MS
research

by Timothy Coetzee, PhD

Many people are aware that he Society’s Strategic Response to MS includes a commitment to fund more research on progressive MS. For years we’ve been supporting research to stop MS, restore function and end MS forever. Much of this research applies to all types of MS. With that foundation laid, we have new opportunities to speed work on progressive MS.

“Progressive MS” means
different things. For example:
•;There’s;the;relatively;rare
type of progressive MS that
does not wax and wane
(relapse/remit) but rather
worsens from onset (primary-
progressive MS).

•;There’s;the;more;common type of slow worsening after a person has experienced a course of relapsing-remitting MS, when relapses subside or are infrequent ( secondary-progressive MS).

•;There’s;the;silent;progression of tissue injury that is often detected using MRI even when a person isn’t experiencing worsening symptoms.

•;And;sometimes;progressive MS refers to a person with severe disabilities.

Recently our scientific advisers convened to begin shaping research priorities in progressive MS. They agreed that for us to develop better treatments for every type of MS progression, we need a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that drive it.

Chris, diagnosed in 1993

Virtually every therapy that is approved for relapsing forms of MS has been tested, or is currently under testing, in people with progressive forms of the disease. Findings from these trials are driving some key research activities today.

We learned, for example, that a traditional measure of progression, called the EDSS, is not sensitive to changes over the short periods that are typical in clinical trials. We’re already working to improve clinical measurements, imaging and other tools to detect changes in disability and nervous system integrity and more quickly determine whether a therapy for progressive MS is working.

progressive” and “ primary-progressive”; these are mere descriptions of symptoms. We’re tackling this in partnership with our European partners at ECTRIMS with the hope of making possible clinical trials that test therapies against specific processes underlying different types of disease activity.

We also learned that trials
that combined people with
different types of progression
can be like “mixing apples and
oranges” and possibly dilute
potential treatment impacts.
We’re taking a harder look at
the biological basis for MS
categories like “secondary-
We’ve got our work cut
out for us, but it’s a worthy
challenge and efforts are already
under way around the world to
propel research that will make
big strides for people with
progressive MS.