National Health and Medical Research Council

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an auto-immune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the central nervous system: brain, spinal cord and nerves. In MS the fatty insulating sheathes around nerves — the myelin — is damaged and replaced with scar (sclerotic) tissue, diminishing their ability to conduct nervous impulses. Symptoms of MS come and go over time, and can include vision loss; weakness, paralysis and numbness; loss of balance and coordination; slurred speech; memory loss; depression and mood swings. The causes of MS are unknown, although genetic and environmental factors are suspected. The disease is also incurable, but fortunately seldom fatal. People with MS can lead relatively normal lives with ongoing medication and management of recurring MS ‘attacks’. [1]

Most cases of MS are first diagnosed in adulthood (ages 20-40), and it affects women twice as often as men. Access Economics estimates there were over 16,000 people with MS in Australia in 2005, and the ongoing cost to Australia of their care and treatment was over $600 million. [2]

NHMRC funding for multiple sclerosis research

In the period 2004-09, NHMRC contributed nearly $26.4 million to Australian research into multiple sclerosis.

Some NHMRC-funded research projects into multiple sclerosis

Mechanisms of autoantibody mediated axonal injury in inflammatory demyelinating neuropathies

Chief Investigator Professor John D Pollard, University of Sydney

Destruction of nerve fibres (axons) accompanies demyelination and may be responsible for most of the deficit in multiple sclerosis and immune neuropathies. This project will investigate the role of recently described antibodies against a normal component of the axon in axonal damage in both animal models and in patients with immune neuropathies. The project could have a major effect on approaches to management of these diseases.

NHMRC Project grant

Neural plasticity following lesions of the central nervous system in multiple sclerosis

Chief Investigator Professor David J Burke, University of Sydney

The brain and nervous system can adapt to injury and disease. The compensatory changes underlying this "plasticity" can ameliorate disability. This project will investigate the underlying mechanisms in patients with multiple sclerosis, by examining changes in the properties of nerve fibres in the peripheral nerve. The rationale for the project is that the properties of peripheral nerve fibres can reflect, at least in part, the properties of their cell bodies within the spinal cord.

NHMRC Project grant

Identifying genes in the HLA complex that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis

Chief Investigator Dr Justin P Rubio, University of Melbourne

There is no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but a person's genetic make-up can influence their susceptibility to developing MS and the symptoms of their condition. Knowing more about these "MS genes" will help to a) provide better advice concerning a person's risk of developing the disease or their prognosis b) in the design of new treatments. This project aims to identify 'MS genes" in a region of the human genome call the HLA complex.

NHMRC Project grant

Dissecting the function of heparanase in inflammatory disease using genetic tissue-specific ablation

Chief Investigator Dr Mark D Hulett, La Trobe University

This project aims to define the role of the enzyme heparanase in a number of important diseases, namely inflammatory/autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the growth and spread of cancer. Heparanase has been implicated for many years in promoting these diseases however its precise contribution has not been defined. These studies will provide definitive information whether heparanase is a valid therapeutic target in these important disease settings.

NHMRC Project grant

Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis and its relationship to mood disturbance and fatigue

Chief Investigator Ms Hannah L Gill, University of Queensland

This research aims to test a hypothesized model addressing the interplay between cognitive dysfunction, mood disturbance, and fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis as well as determine the associated impact on daily functioning and quality of life. The importance of background factors, disease factors and psychosocial factors in predicting cognitive dysfunction will also be investigated. Recommendations for new rehabilitation approaches will be developed in light of our findings.

Scholarship – clinical sciences

Prognostic factors following a first episode of central nervous system demyelination suggestive of multiple sclerosis

Chief Investigator Associate Professor Bruce V Taylor, Menzies Research Institute

Multiple sclerosis is the second most common cause of neurological morbidity in young Australians after trauma. Knowing who will progress to develop multiple sclerosis after a first attack and at what rate they will progress is an important question as it will allow us to target treatment to those at greatest risk and modify a person's lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing MS or slow their rate of progression.

NHMRC Project grant

Protective roles for protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) in parasitic and autoimmune diseases

Chief Investigator Associate Professor Thomas M Cocks, University of Melbourne

Parasite infection has unique and specific effects on the human immune system which can prevent allergy and diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS). We have discovered a drug which can cause the immune system to behave in a similar way to that observed during a parasite infection. This project will explore how the drug mimics a parasite and examine the potential of this treatment to prevent MS using a mouse model of this disease.

NHMRC Project grant

Regulation of astrocytic gliosis and axonal regeneration in EAE by EphA4

Chief Investigator Dr Ann M Turnley, University of Melbourne

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease with currently no effective cure. Apart from losing the protective insulating sheath called myelin, nerve cells are damaged and a scar forms. If this could be prevented then MS may be better treated. Using a model of MS called EAE, the role of a molecule, EphA4, will be examined for its ability to induce nerve loss and scar formation and to determine whether blocking it will promote repair, leading to a therapy for MS.

NHMRC Project grant

Sources

1. ABC Health & Wellbeing www.abc.net.au/health/library/stories/2006/09/25/1831437.htm
2. Acting positively: strategic implications of the economic costs of multiple sclerosis in Australia – report by Access Economics Pty Ltd for Multiple Sclerosis Australia. Winter 2005