Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex and multifaceted neurological disorder. While MS has a genetic component, it is not a classic genetic disease. For this reason, a large amount of research has been done to identify environmental factors that may also be involved. In this episode, host Brett Drummond of MSTranslate talks with Emmanuelle Waubant, Professor of Neurology and Paediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, about the latest findings on the role that environmental, genetic, and epigenetic risk factors play in MS. 

The next major step forward in the management of MS involves finding treatments that can repair damaged myelin. If successful, it would offer the potential to start to reverse some of the symptoms experienced by people living with MS. Bruno Stankoff, a neurologist of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris and vice president of ECTRIMS, and Gianvito Martino, scientific director of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, discuss this important MS research area with host Brett Drummond of MSTranslate.

People living with MS want to be able to improve their quality of life and take control of a disease that is often filled with uncertainty. In this space, no topic has generated more interest or discussion than lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise. What is the current evidence on how effective they can be at helping manage the disease? Robert Motl, professor of kinesiology and nutrition, and rehabilitation sciences at University of Illinois-Chicago, and Kathryn Fitzgerald, assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University, join host Brett Drummond of MStranslate.

While multiple sclerosis (MS) has been traditionally described as a disease of young adults, the significant improvements in treatments over the past few decades has meant that researchers and clinicians are now increasingly handling questions related to the impact of ageing. 

In this episode, host Brett Drummond of MSTranslate talks with Anneke Van Der Walt, Director of MS and Neuroimmunology and Neuro-ophthalmology at Alfred Health in Melbourne, Australia and lead of the MS and Neuro-ophthalmology Research Group at the School of Translational Medicine, Monash University; and Professor Frederik Barkhof, Chair of Neuroradiology, Brain Repair & Rehabilitation at University College London's Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Professor in Neuroradiology at the Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine at VUmc in Amsterdam, on the key takeaways from a recent international workshop on ageing.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a powerful tool to help enhance our understanding of MS disease processes, improve our diagnostic accuracy, better predict disease course, and identify optimal treatments. How is AI being used in MS research currently and what may it be able to do in the future? Host Alan Thompson, Editor in Chief of MS Journal, talks with Arman Eshaghi of the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, and Daniel Ontaneda of the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute’s Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis in the United States.

In a landscape where funding is increasingly difficult to obtain, the importance of conducting research that has the greatest impact has never been more important. In the case of women with MS, a large-scale scoping review,* conducted on behalf of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS, sheds light on the research gaps related to female health. ln this episode, host Brett Drummond of MSTranslate talks with two of its authors -- Lindsay Ross, an assistant professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and Ruth Ann Marrie, professor of medicine and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba in Canada.

*Ross, L., Finlayson, M., Amato, M. P., Cohen, J. A., Hellwig, K., Tintore, M., Vukusic, S., Salter, A., & Marrie, R. A. (2024). Priority setting: women's health topics in multiple sclerosis. Frontiers in neurology, 15, 1355817. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2024.1355817

The ECTRIMS Congress offers a valuable opportunity for young researchers to gain experience and exposure. Joonas Lehikoinen from Helsinki University Hospital and the University of Helsinki Neurocenter, along with Ahmed Abdelhak from the University of California, San Francisco, received poster abstract prizes at MSMilan2023. Host Brett Drummond from MSTranslate talks with them about their research, experiences, and advice for young researchers preparing abstracts for ECTRIMS2024.

With the growing push towards taking a more personalised approach to the treatment and management of multiple sclerosis, it is important to understand the unique issues – both socially and clinically – that may arise among people of different ethnicities. In this episode, Natalie Bursari of The Nerve of My Multiple Sclerosis in the UK and Mitzi Joi Williams of Joi Life Wellness Multiple Sclerosis Center in the US discuss the issues faced by Black people living with MS, with host Brett Drummond of MStranslate. 

Discussions are ongoing to change the way MS patients are diagnosed and treated. In this episode,  Xavier Montalban, Chair of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis, which is leading the discussions, explains the evolution of the McDonald criteria and why these proposed revisions are important for clinicians and patients alike.

Recent global epidemiological data show that approximately 70% of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis are women.  While this may tell us something about the mechanisms behind disease susceptibility, it also raises a number of unique challenges throughout the MS journey.  In this episode, Ruth Dobson, Professor of Clinical Neurology at Queen Mary University of London, and Emmanuelle Leray, Professor of Epidemiology at Ecole des hautes études en santé publique in Rennes, France, guide us through the different stages of this pathway and discuss the latest research findings that relate to female health.