MS Research Flagship
Newsletter

The MS Research Flagship
The MS Research Flagship is a Flagship program of the University of Tasmania, College of Health and Medicine and was established from a long history of multiple sclerosis (MS) research at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. Menzies has proudly been at the forefront of research advancements in MS for over twenty-five years. 

Research with Connections

To recognise and celebrate World MS Day 2022, our MS Research Flagship is hosting its second Research with Connections event on Friday 27th May.

The event provides an opportunity to establish, strengthen, and foster connections between researchers and the MS community. Our aim is to ensure that MS research is relevant, meets the priorities and needs of the community, and is ultimately translated into outcomes that improve the lives of people living with MS.

Join us for a day of research and community presentations, trade tables and celebrations in honour of World MS Day. And why not bring a friend along for FREE!

Event details

• Date: Friday 27th May 2022
• Time: 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
• Location: Tailrace Centre, Launceston

This is a free event with lunch, tea and coffee provided, as well as free return bus transfers from Burnie or Hobart.

Tickets: bit.ly/RwC2022 
Enquiries: SM-MSResearch.Engagement@utas.edu.au

This initiative is supported by funding from the Australian Government.

The May 50K

The May 50K is a virtual fundraising challenge that asks participants to leave their limits behind and run, walk, or move 50km in May to raise vital funds for MS research.

In 2021 our combined University of Tasmania's College of Health and Medicine, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, and MS Research Flagship workplace team raised over $10,000.

This year our workplace team will again be clocking up 50 kilometres (and improving our physical and mental wellbeing in the process), and hopefully raising as much or more for this great cause.

If you'd like to support our workplace team fundraising, you can donate here: www.themay50k.org/so/836/12

Alternatively, if you're keen to participate yourself, visit: www.themay50k.org

20 years of the Australian Multiple Sclerosis Longitudinal Study

This year we’re celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS), a partnership between the Menzies Institute for Medical Research and MS Australia.

Over 3000 people now participate in this survey-based research study, and the real life data collected is used by MS medical and support services to effect positive change for those with MS, their families and carers.

Since it began, the data gathered from the study has contributed to many areas of MS research, including employment, quality of life, cost of MS, the influence of other health conditions and many more.

If you're living with MS (and over 18 years of age) we encourage you to register with the study and share your story. 

Contact the Australian MS Longitudinal Study team on 03 6226 4739 or email AMSLS.info@utas.edu.au

Impact of access to disease-modifying therapies for people living with MS

New research published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal has found that early and widespread access to disease-modifying therapies (DMT) has a positive impact on disability progression and quality of life in people living with MS.

The observational study, led by MS Research Flagship research fellow Dr Suzi Claflin, compared Australian and New Zealand populations – which have had different levels of DMT availability – 10-20 years post-MS diagnosis.

The Australian cohort had been treated with DMT for longer, had a greater proportion of disease course treated, and a shorter time between diagnosis and starting DMT than the New Zealand cohort. Researchers subsequently found that the Australians had less disability, lower MS severity and a higher quality of life, as measured against recognised rating scales.

As Dr Claflin explains, “Australia has been more permissive than New Zealand when it comes to DMT access and exposure, with the government subsidising the cost of many DMTs under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS). In fact, 93.9% of the Australians in our study had been treated with DMT, compared with just 50.4% of the New Zealanders.”

“This study demonstrates the impact of national-level DMT policy on disability outcomes in people living with MS. Essentially, where DMTs are more accessible, people living with MS experience less disability progression and have a better quality of life post-diagnosis,” she says.

Read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13524585211035948

Funding for this study was provided by the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation.

The value of MS Nurses

A recent highlight for the Menzies Institute for Medical Research was the launch of a landmark MS Nurse Care in Australia Report, detailing the value of MS nurses.

Produced in collaboration with MS Australia and MS Nurses Australasia, the report reveals nearly one third of Australians living with MS - equivalent to 8,000 people - don't have access to life-changing MS nurse care.

So why does this matter? A specialised MS nursing model offers many advantages for people living with MS, including less severe symptoms, lower levels of disability, depression and anxiety and a higher quality of life.

"Every Australian deserves the best healthcare possible, and the same goes for those living with MS," says Professor Ingrid van der Mei from our MS Research Flagship, who co-authored the report.

MS Nurses provide tailored, expert care and support for people living with multiple sclerosis and in best practice are there from the time of diagnosis throughout the course of the disease.

"MS is a complex and constantly evolving disease - receiving a diagnosis can be a confusing and scary time," Professor van der Mei adds.

Findings in the report show that a specialised MS nursing model not only reduces the need for emergency visits, hospitalisations and more costly health professionals, it leads to a reduction in costs associated with MS care overall.

Access to MS nurse care is of particular concern for regional, rural and remote Australians. The report found almost 50% of Australians surveyed who live in these areas had no access to an MS nurse, compared to 28% of those living in major cities.

The MS Nurse Care in Australia Report makes four key recommendations:

• Raise awareness
• Assist the existing MS Nurse workforce
• Increase the number of MS Nurses
• Increase access to MS Nurses through telehealth

Want to know more? You can access the full report here: bit.ly/3DDBWeO

MS Family and MS Stem

MS is often referred to as a complex disease. This is because MS results from the combined effect of a person’s genes, lifestyle and environment. The complexity has prevented researchers from getting at the underlying cause of MS.

MS Family

We have been reaching out to the MS community to identify families that have two or more family members with MS. By studying the DNA of these family members, we aim to identify specific genes or gene mutations that contribute to MS development in that family.

By looking at the genes identified across multiple families we are starting to see a picture emerging that tells us how MS develops at a cellular level. But our research doesn’t stop here.

MS Stem

Members of these families and the broader MS community have also been recruited to give blood samples from which we can create stem cells. We are storing those stem cells in our biobank called MS Stem.

MS Stem cells can be used to generate any cell type from the body, so we can now test the effect of specific genes on brain cell health.  This research will allow us to link the gene mutations identified in the MS Family study with cell changes that could underpin MS development.  We will also use MS Stem to find out whether the cause of MS is unique to each family or can tell us more generally how MS starts.

This research project has been underway for a number of years but has gained serious momentum more recently. We now have nine full time researchers working on this project and hope to share some of the results with you in coming newsletters.

We would like to thank those families who have already provided blood samples to help us with our MS Family and MS Stem studies.  

This initiative is supported by funding from the Australian Government. MS Stem also receives funding from the Irene Phelps Charitable Trust.

(Top to bottom) MS Family and MS Stem researchers Dr Ashish Mehta, Dr Jessica Fletcher, Dr Nicholas Blackburn

Dr Carlie Cullen received a 'Ten of the Best - Best of the Best' award at the annual Menzies Annual Excellence Awards for her paper 'Periaxonal and nodal plasticities modulate action potential conduction in the adult mouse brain'.

Dr Suzi Claflin, research lead for the Understanding MS MOOC, was awarded the Research Impact Prize for 'translation and end user uptake of research that has had a demonstrable benefit to society'.

Associate Professor Des Graham was awarded University of Tasmania’s Award for Outstanding Contribution for 'engaging MS consumers, leveraging MS research opportunities, and increasing the profile of the Menzies Institute for Medical Research as a hub of research excellence in MS'.

Tram Nguyen won the University of Tasmania Three Minute Thesis award for her presentation on 'Brain repair with magnetic brain stimulation in Multiple Sclerosis'.