Bulletin Spring 2018

Patients with SPMS had lower baseline SCV (p < 0.01) but
no accelerated SCV loss compared to those with RRMS.
Clinical relapses were found to predict SCV loss over time
in RRMS. Furthermore, SCV loss, but not total brain volume
and T2 lesion volume, was a strong predictor of EDSS score
worsening over time.
The blog commented that loss of nerves in the spinal cord is
a prediction of whether you will lose leg function. This is not
surprising as the spinal cord is the nervous highway from your
brain to your legs.
Every one percent increase of the annual SCV loss rate
was associated with an extra 28% risk increase of disease
progression in the following year in both groups.
The researchers commented that SCV loss over time relates to
the number of clinical relapses in RRMS, but overall does not
differ between RRMS and SPMS. SCV proved to be a strong
predictor of physical disability and disease progression,
indicating that SCV may be a suitable marker for monitoring
disease activity and severity.
From MS Research Australia
Australians Develop Promising Technique for Myelin Repair
Repairing damaged myelin is essential to prevent the disability
progression in MS and techniques to promote repair are a
huge unmet need in MS.
Melbourne-based researchers, funded by MS Research
Australia, have developed a synthetic molecule called TDP6
that mimics a natural brain protein. Giving TDP6 as a treatment
after myelin damage increased the number of myelinated
nerve fibres and myelin thickness, indicating myelin repair.
It is hoped that this could lead to new therapies to repair
damaged myelin in MS.
The ability to repair damage in MS is one of the most pressing
goals of MS research. The myelin coating around nerve fibres
is damaged by the immune system, exposing the nerve and
interrupting the nerve signals travelling between the brain
and the body. Current treatments for RRMS aim to reduce the
damage caused by relapses and inflammation, but treatments
to repair damage are not currently available.
Myelin can be naturally repaired, however this repair is
often incomplete and eventually fails completely, leading to
progression disability. Stimulating and enhancing the natural
repair processes is a goal for many MS researchers.
Research conducted by Dr Jessica Fletcher, working with Dr
Simon Murray, Dr Junhua Xiao, and Assoc Prof Richard Hughes,
led to the development of a synthetic protein, which mimics a
naturally occurring brain protein to promote myelin repair.
Given as a treatment after myelin is damaged, TDP6 increased
the number of mature myelin-producing cells in the brain and
repaired myelin; in that the number of myelinated nerve fibres
increased and myelin thickness improved after the synthetic
protein was given.
This work has shown that this synthetic molecule can repair
myelin in a biological model of MS. While more laboratory
work is needed to further develop the treatment it’s hoped this
molecule could form the basis of a new therapy for repairing
existing damage and provide treatment options for people in
the progressive phase of their MS.
Read more at: https://msra.org.au/news/develop-promisingmyelin-repair
Modern MS Therapies Improve Employment Outcomes
New research, involving 874 people on disease-modifying
therapies in the previous five years, showed that more
effective disease-modifying therapies are associated with
increases in the amount of work, work attendance and work
productivity.
Being employed has benefits beyond purely financial – it can
improve quality of life, provide social interaction and give us
a sense of purpose.
MS studies in previous decades showed that pwMS were
much more likely to fall out of employment than people with
other chronic conditions and the general population. The
financial impact of reduced employment for people with MS
places a substantial burden on individuals, families and the
wider community.
Research published in 2016 by Dr Pieter Van Dijk at Monash
University, and Assoc Prof Ingrid van der Mei, using data from
MSRA’s Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS), showed
the gap in employment rates between pwMS and the general
population is closing.
The team at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research delved
deeper into the data from the AMSLS to explore whether the
use of disease-modifying therapies has played a role in this
improvement in employment retention for pwMS.
This latest study showed that pwMS on high-efficacy diseasemodifying
therapies were two to three times more likely to
report improved employment outcomes than those on the
lower-efficacy first generation MS treatments.
This study indicates the newer generation MS therapies are
having a positive effect on people’s quality of life, and allowing
people to maintain their health, keeping them well enough to
stay fully active and productively employed.
Many personal factors are taken into consideration when
choosing a medication, so it’s important to discuss your
therapy options with your neurologist.
Read more at: https://msra.org.au/news/therapies-keepingpeople-employed
MSWA BULLETIN SPRING 2018 | 9