October 8, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Australian Council Supports Research Into MS Risk Factors, Falls Australiaās National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is giving a total of AU$6.75 million (about $5 million) in grants to advance research into multiple sclerosis (MS), including risk factors for the disease, preventing falls, and harnessing viral-immune system interactions to improve patients’ lives. The threeĀ investigator grants,…
January 28, 2020 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc MS Research Australia Grant to Help Doctors Better Diagnose, Treat Depression A psychologist atĀ Swinburne University of TechnologyĀ in Melbourne has been awarded an incubator grant by MS Research Australia to identify ways to better detect and treatĀ depressionĀ in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The grant given to Lisa Grech, PhD,Ā with theĀ School of Health Sciences at Swinburne, is…
November 18, 2019 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Mayzent Approved in Australia as First Treatment for Secondary Progressive MS Novartisās MayzentĀ (siponimod) has been approved by Australiaās Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), making it the first therapy to be approved for this use in Australia. SPMS is a form of MS that develops after the onset of…
January 29, 2019 News by Santiago Gisler Funding Supports MS Research on Epigenetics and Fatigue in Australia Australian researchers from the University of NewcastleĀ andĀ the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) have received funding for two projects that will study unexplored areas in multiple sclerosis (MS). The projects, investigating the role of epigenetic differences in MS severity and treatment against MS-derived fatigue, received $211,000 AUD (about $151,300…
May 7, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc MS on the Rise But Still Not a Top Health Priority for Australians, Study Shows Despite increasing prevalence, multiple sclerosis (MS) continues to fly under the radar with only 40 percent of Australians ranking MS as a community health priority, highlighting the need for greater awareness. Estimates show that 25,600 Australians live with MS ā an increase of 4,400 over the past eight years.
September 8, 2017 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Two Australians Win Fellowship Aimed at Breaking Barriers Between Basic and Therapy-development Research Two researchers at the University of Tasmaniaās Menzies Institute for Medical Research have received an innovative multiple sclerosis research fellowship that was created to drive basic scientific research into treatment development and the doctor's office. MS Research Australia and The Macquarie Group Foundation founded the three-year, $750,000 program. It is unique in that it will bring together basic science researchers and therapy-development researchers to try to convert laboratory research into disease solutions. The grant was awarded to Professor Bruce Taylor, a Menzies researcher who is also a neurologist at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and to Dr. Kaylene Young, a neuroscientist whose long career in laboratory research has focused on mechanisms that the brain uses to repair itself. Taylorās achievements include identifying genetic mutations that may increase the risk of a person developing MS. The award will help him move these discoveries to the lab to determine how the mutations harm cells. Young discovered that a type of non-invasive brain stimulation can increase brain stem cells' ability to produce new cells that repair the nervous system. She plans to move the technology, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, from the lab to therapy-development-related research.
February 8, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD First Multiple Sclerosis Blood Biomarker Discovered; Test May Soon Be Available Scientists have discovered the first blood biomarkerĀ for multiple sclerosis (MS) āĀ a chemical identifier in the blood. The discovery should lead to a simple blood test that makes it quicker and easier to follow the course of MS, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system affecting aroundĀ 2.3 million people…
June 1, 2016 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc MS Research Australia Supporting Effort to Harness Anti-inflammatory Potential of Parasitic Worms Researchers at theĀ University of Technology Sydney (UTS) ithree instituteĀ are takingĀ a novel approachĀ in an attempt toĀ halt disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). The scientists are planning to explore the anti-inflammatory potential of a controlled infection by parasitic worms as a way of preventing the harmful over-inflammation observed in MS and…
March 17, 2016 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc MS Research Australia Funds Projects into Targeted Gene Suppression, Drug Delivery Professor Steve Wilton and Dr. Rakesh Veedu from Murdoch Universityās Centre for Comparative GenomicsĀ in Western Australia received project grants of $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, to investigate and develop new methods for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The grants are part of $1.834 million in research fundingĀ givenĀ by MS…
March 16, 2016 News by Charles Moore Australian MS Researcher Devising Ways to Use Smartwatches as Memory Aids Dr. Hannah Gullo, a University of Queensland (UQ) School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researcher,Ā is several steps closer to achieving her goal of using smartwatches to combat the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), thanks to an $8,000 Ian Ballard Travel Award for 2016 that will fund her flying from…
March 31, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Research Australia Funds Project on MS and Epstein-Barr Virus MS Research Australia has awardedĀ aĀ $150,000 grant to support a project being conducted atĀ Murdoch UniversityĀ aimed atĀ expanding scientific knowledge on the correlation between multiple sclerosis (MS) andĀ Epstein-Barr virus infection. The research grant was awarded to David Nolan, anĀ adjunct associate professor at the Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases (IIID),…