MS Society Edinburgh Centre for MS Research

Background 

We've funded research at the Edinburgh Centre since 2007. In that time, it's grown into a world-leading hub for MS research. 

Recent research from the Centre shows that nerve damage can start very soon after the protective myelin coating around nerves is injured. This means we don’t just need to stop the immune attacks responsible for this damage. We need to protect the nerves themselves and find ways to repair myelin, even in the earliest stages of MS.

In this new grant, Professors Anna Williams and David Lyons and their team aim to understand and test how we might prevent this early damage, and develop more personalised ways to treat MS. The Edinburgh Centre brings together the right researchers and the right tools to do this.

About the project

This work will follow three specific paths, each focusing on a different but connected goal:

1. Preventing early damage: The team will look for potential new drug treatments that protect myelin and the nerves underneath, before the damage becomes irreversible. They'll test hundreds of drugs in zebrafish with an MS-like condition to see if they can stop or reverse early damage to myelin and nerves. The most promising drugs will then be tested further in mice.
2. Understanding potential new drugs: Some drugs in clinical trials may protect the nerves. But we need to understand exactly how they work, how long they need to be taken for, and how best to measure their effects. The team will use novel brain scans and blood tests to track the effects of drugs in both humans and animals with an MS-like condition. They'll begin with the drug metformin that's currently being tested in the Octopus trial. This will help to bridge the gap between animal studies and results in people with MS.
3. Personalising MS care: MS is different for everyone. We need to understand these differences between people with MS so that we can ultimately match the right people to the right treatments at the right time. Recent research at the Centre has shown that people with MS can be grouped based on how their brains respond to MS. The team will now study this further using samples from people with MS. And look for biological clues (like proteins in the blood) that might be able to help group people according to how their MS behaves. They'll also use their data to choose the best animal models for testing new drugs effectively in each of these groups.

How will it help people with MS? 

Instead of just slowing MS down, this research aims to stop damage from happening and help the brain repair itself.

The team could identify new drugs that can protect nerves early on, before symptoms appear, which can then be tested in clinical trials. Their drug testing platform could become a key tool in making sure the drugs that work in animals with an MS-like condition in the lab can be tested in the same way in people with MS. This could help speed up the process of finding out which treatments are working and why. And by identifying different types of MS based on biology, it could mean that in the future, people can be given treatments tailored specifically to their MS.

This work builds on the solid foundation already laid by the Edinburgh Centre, and is paving the way for a future where MS treatment is more targeted, more effective, and more personal.