July 2014

Welcome to our July issue of MS WIRE.

In this issue of MS WIRE, we bring you a research update from MS Research Australia-funded Associate Professor Alexander Klistorner and announce a new Incubator Grant awarded to Professor Souyma Ghosh.

Associate Professor Alexander Klistorner recently published his findings in the journal Neurology, and has identified a relationship between thinning of the layer of nerve cells in the retina, and lesions occurring deep in the visual pathway of the brain.

Professor Souyma Ghosh has been awarded a one year Incubator Grant to investigate an interesting new approach that combines computer aided rehabilitation techniques with magnetic brain stimulation to improve walking and balance in people with MS. On average, recipients of our incubator grants leverage a staggering twenty seven times the initial grant amount in prestigious funding from other sources.

I would also like to thank you for recently taking the time to participate in our online readership survey. We are delighted to see that the MS NEXT (quarterly newsletter) received a 95% satisfaction rating of 'very good' or 'good' and the MS WIRE (monthly e-newsletter), now almost one year old, received a high 94% satisfaction rating. We also received some encouraging comments and great suggestions which we will gradually start implementing.

Thank you for your ongoing support of MS Research Australia.

Kindest regards,
Dr Matthew Miles
Chief Executive Officer

A new study from Australian researcher, Associate Professor Alexander Klistorner from the University of Sydney, has identified a relationship between thinning of the layer of nerve cells in the retina, and lesions occurring deeper in the visual pathway of the brain.

By studying this relationship, the researchers are helping to provide clues as to the importance of the visual system as a potential marker for myelin damage occurring deeper in the brain in MS.

Associate Professor Alexander Klistorner this year received a MS Research Australia Ian Ballard Travel Award to assist his international collaborations. He and his collaborators have recently published their latest findings in the prestigious journal Neurology.

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Professor Souyma Ghosh, Western Australian Neuroscience Research Institute, Perth has been awarded an MS Research Australia Incubator Grant with funding from MS WA, to investigate an interesting new approach that combines computer aided rehabilitation techniques with magnetic brain stimulation, to improve walking and balance in people with MS.

Incubator grants provide seed funding for the early stages of new research efforts and it is hoped that with this funding Professor Ghosh can test the feasibility of this approach in MS and work towards a larger project that will improve the provision of falls prevention and rehabilitation services for people with MS.

Professor Ghosh is a neurologist who has specialised in Parkinson’s disease and restorative neurology, with a particular interest in falls prevention and upper limb rehabilitation. He is now turning his expertise to prevent falls in people with MS.

> Read more

MS Research Australia recently teamed up with the NSW Stem Cell Network to host a research workshop on stem cells in MS and neurological disease.

Stem cells are the subject of much interest amongst both researchers and patients alike. However, with media stories around the topic often generating much hope and hype, there remains a significant difference between patients’ expectations of what stem cells can achieve and the reality of the stage that research and clinical use has reached.

A strategic goal of MS Research Australia is to leverage strong collaborative networks within the field of MS and with other comparable fields to advance research into MS. This productive collaboration with the NSW Stem Cell Network was one of several successful approaches we have taken to achieve this goal.

The workshop brought together researchers from diverse sections of neurological and stem cell fields to stimulate learning, discussion and collaboration across the disciplines.

Photo: Professor Bill Carroll, MS Research Australia and Western Australian Neuroscience Research Institute

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Recently MS Research Australia conducted a readership survey to assess how well we were performing with our various communication publications and methods, and invited comments for improvement.

Thank you to the 338 readers who participated in the survey, which provided a statistically significant insight on the way MS Research Australia communicates.

The survey revealed that MS NEXT (our quarterly newsletter) is well regarded by our readers, receiving a 95% satisfaction rating of 'very good' or 'good'. 84% of you read most or all of the articles and the most popular sections are the Australian and worldwide MS research discoveries, updates on MS clinical trials, profiles/updates on MS Research Australia funded projects and researchers and the updates on the MS Research Australia Brain Bank.

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At the recent Annual MS Nurse meeting “Maximising Success” held in Sydney, Dr Matthew Miles, Chief Executive Officer, MS Research Australia was invited to attend as the keynote speaker.

Dr Miles' presentation  titled "The future of MS research” started the two day event. It delved into some of Australia’s successes in the field of medical research in general as well as some of the critical activities of MS Research Australia. Many nurses were acutely aware of many of the significant advances in MS research over the last 12 months including our increased understanding of how genetics may contribute to the chance of getting MS and which genes may be involved. The MS Research Australia PrevANZ clinical trial involving vitamin D supplementation – potentially the largest clinical trial of its kind in the world - also raised an interesting discussion.  

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Starting on Saturday 30 August, Mike and Katrina Hemingway will lead a team of 20 people in a walk across England to raise $150,000 for MS research through Kiss Goodbye to MS.

Mike and Katrina have been tirelessly fundraising for MS research for over nine years. Their latest adventure is called Wainwright’s Coast2Coast MS Walk and is being undertaken in collaboration with the MS Society UK.

The journey starts from St Bees, in Cumbria, on the Irish Sea and finishes in Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, on the North Sea, which takes them across the breadth of England. The Walk is a total of over 300km and will take 12 full days.

Katrina, the driving force behind this amazing adventure, recently brought together a dozen or so of the girls to make a video highlighting the passion and purpose of the Walk. You can see the whole video at https://vimeo.com/99956896 and a briefer version at https://vimeo.com/100230816.

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Laura Hill (pictured left with her mother, Annie) is joining the MS Research Australia/Foundation 5 Million Plus fundraising team for the 5th consecutive year and has already raised $15,000. Over the last five years Laura has now raised over $50,000.

This equates to over $715 for each kilometre she has run in this iconic event over 5 years. Her inspiration is her mother Annie, who was diagnosed with MS ten years ago and encourages support from their customers at the family-run newsagency in Campbell, ACT.

Like Laura, some other team members are travelling long distances to take part in this event, even a top MS researcher from the UK.

Please consider helping the team meet their $30,000 target at https://city2surf2014.everydayhero.com/au/team-msra-f5m-2014 or even join the team.

Click here to register to run for F5m+ and MS Research Australia. With your support we could get amongst the front runners!