The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society in the US is planning to invest $10.5m to support 42 new MS research projects.
The projects are part of a research strategy, which is aimed to stop MS, restore function that has been lost for patients with MS, and end the disease forever.
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MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.
Its symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis, and most people with the disease are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50.
National Multiple MS Society’s latest investment is part of a projected investment of $50m for this year to support more than 380 new as well as ongoing studies across the globe.
Research projects include five studies that are exploring various aspects that relate to promoting the repair of nerve-insulating myelin to restore function in MS; a study carried out in Ohio, US to explore whether increasing physical activity levels can help reverse cognitive problems.
Other projects are conducting a study at Mt Sinai, testing a dietary approach to treat the disease, and two policy studies looking at factors driving the escalating costs of MS medications.
National MS Society research executive vice-president Bruce Bebo said: “These new research investments are intended to answer questions that will accelerate breakthroughs that change the world for people with MS.”
In order to find the best research, the society depends on more than 130 scientists who evaluate hundreds of proposals every year.
Funded by National MS Society, the research paved the way for existing therapies and continues to be a driving force of MS research.
Image: Photomicrograph of a demyelinating MS-Lesion. Photo: courtesy of Marvin 101.
