National MS Society Reports Sweeping Advances Made in MS Research During 2012

Part 2: Overview, Progress Toward Restoring Function and Ending MS

NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National MS Society supported new and ongoing initiatives to propel efforts to restore function to people with MS through its Discovery and Fast Forward research programs.

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PROGRESS TOWARD RESTORING FUNCTION LOST TO MS

Other important 2012 results toward restoring function include:

Nervous System Protection and Repair First trial of experimental anti-LINGO to stimulate myelin repair This first human phase I trial of BIIB033 (Biogen Idec), an immune antibody that inhibits LINGO-1, involved 64 healthy adult volunteers and 42 people with relapsing or secondary-progressive MS. There were no serious adverse events; headache was the most frequently adverse event reported. The authors concluded that the results support advancing this myelin repair strategy into a phase II clinical trial. Reported at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting http://www.nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=6377

Trial of patients' own adult stem cells appear safe and hints of benefit Researchers in the UK published results of a small clinical trial involving 10 people with secondary-progressive MS, reporting that injecting a person's own bone marrow stem cells appeared safe and possibly beneficial in helping to protect the nervous system from injury. Further trials are now underway to establish its safety and potential benefit. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=5951

Collaboration to find new therapies to repair the nervous system in people with MS Fast Forward is funding research at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, UK to screen for compounds that can stimulate myelin repair in MS. The project grew out of findings from a Nervous System Repair and Protection Initiative funded through the Society's Promise 2010 campaign. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=6767

Rehabilitation technique improves memory Learning and memory improved in people with MS with a technique that uses stories and imagery to cement learning. This was accompanied by increased activation of areas in the brain related to memory and learning. The Kessler Foundation Research Center investigation was funded in part by the Society's Mentor-Based Postdoctoral Fellowship program in rehabilitation research. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=5962

Hotter days may make mental tasks harder This Society-co-funded study, which needs further exploration, may help people plan activities and may improve the design of future clinical trials. The study was done by Victoria Leavitt, PhD, and colleagues through a Mentor-based rehabilitation postdoctoral fellowship award to John DeLuca, PhD at the Kessler Foundation Research Center in West Orange, NJ. http://nationalmssociety.org/news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=6208

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National MS Society Reports Sweeping Advances Made in MS Research During 2012