http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Research-2001Nov30.asp

November 30, 2001

This has been another exciting year for MS research. Thanks to funds provided by its chapters and private donors, in 2001 the National Multiple Sclerosis Society was able to spend almost $28 million to support research programs to find the cause, treatments and cure for MS. Over half of the Society’s $320 million cumulative investment in research has been made over the past ten years – one indicator of the accelerating pace and cost of research and our readiness to meet them.

In 2001, the Society initiated 124 new MS research projects. Thus far, the Society has committed $14.9 million to targeted research initiatives including the MS Lesion Project, the Sonya Slifka Longitudinal MS Study, and individual projects exploring genetic aspects of MS and gender differences. We now have over $40 million in current and future commitments to over 300 MS research projects, for which money must be raised.

Significant advances have been made in both laboratory and clinical studies in MS. As the world’s largest private supporter of MS research, the Society has been at the core of many of these advances during 2001. Key highlights include:

• An international panel, organized and supported by the National MS Society, published the first revised diagnostic criteria for MS in 20 years. The new criteria provide guidelines for using MRI, analysis of spinal fluid and visual evoked potentials to supplement the diagnostic process.

• Promising results were reported from an early-phase trial of Antegren®, a monoclonal antibody that blocks movement of immune cells into the brain, in relapsing-remitting and secondary-progressive forms of MS. Larger-scale studies are planned of Antegren, alone and in combination with Avonex® (interferon beta-1a).

• Two separate studies reported that both Avonex and Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate) can slow the accumulation of “black holes,” which are intense MRI-detected brain lesions that indicate relatively severe tissue damage, in persons with relapsing MS

• In a combination study of Avonex and Copaxone, investigators treated 33 people with relapsing-remitting MS with Avonex and Copaxone concurrently and found that treatment was safe, warranting a larger trial.

• As part of its targeted research efforts on gender differences in MS, the Society entered into an unprecedented $20-million dollar collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and other institutions to fund research to define differences in immune responses between males and females, ultimately to increase understanding and treatment of immune-based diseases such as MS.

• Society-funded researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles administered the sex hormone estriol to six women with relapsing-remitting MS and six with secondary-progressive MS. Treatment was well tolerated and somewhat effective in reducing lesions in relapsing-remitting MS, but not in progressive MS. This trial was funded through the Society’s targeted research initiative on gender differences.

• The Society brought together nearly 100 basic and clinical experts from around the globe to discuss why nerve cells are damaged or disrupted in MS, and therapeutic possibilities. A follow-up workshop will focus on how to repair damaged nerve cells.

• Yale University researchers performed the first known surgical attempt to repair an MS brain lesion by transplanting myelin-making cells from the peripheral nervous system. The safety and effectiveness of this treatment are not yet known.

• A short (6-month) study pitting Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) against Avonex in relapsing-remitting MS showed significant benefit for Rebif over Avonex in reducing relapses and accumulation of MRI-detected lesions. Also in relapsing-remitting MS, Betaseron® (interferon beta-1b) reduced relapse rates, the appearance of new lesions and overall lesion activity more effectively than Avonex over two years. The full results of these studies have not yet been published, and how these findings relate to clinical practice is currently unknown.

• Reports indicated no link between vaccinations and MS. Investigators at Harvard found those who had received hepatitis B vaccination were no more likely to develop MS than those who had not. Investigators in Europe and Canada found no connection between influenza, hepatitis and tetanus vaccination and relapses of MS.

• The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine published results of a comprehensive, independent review of MS research. The report, contracted by the Society, concludes that MS research is generally on track and making important inroads, and made 18 recommendations for future strategies.