The ECTRIMS Podcast

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.

The MSMilan Patient Community Day was designed for people living with multiple sclerosis and related neurological diseases and their caregivers to stay updated and involved in the advancements being made on their journey towards managing their conditions. In this episode, Tim Coetzee, Chief Advocacy, Services & Science Officer and Bonnie Higgins, Director of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the United States discuss their experiences at MSMilan Patient Community Day, their roles, and why they believe it is important to put people living with MS and other neurological conditions at the centre of everything that we do.

Why do some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) continue to run marathons while others are in wheelchairs years after diagnosis? Genetics partly explains why. Scientists have identified the first genetic marker for MS severity, which could pave the way for new treatments to prevent disease progression. Sergio Baranzini of University of California San Francisco and Adil Harroud of McGill University in Canada discuss their findings with host Brett Drummond of MS Translate.

Descriptors of multiple sclerosis are currently based on a combination of clinical and MRI features, and include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting, secondary and primary progressive subtypes. Accumulating evidence suggests that the clinical course of MS is better considered as a continuum, with contributions from concurrent pathophysiological processes that vary across individuals and over time. In this episode, MS Journal Editor in Chief Alan Thompson talks with neurologists Marcello Moccia of the Multiple Sclerosis Unit of the University of Naples Federico II and Angela Vidal of Centre d’Esclerosi Multiple de Catalunya on the new understanding of the key mechanisms underlying progression and the availability of neuroimaging and humoral biomarkers and their implications for clinical care and treatment.

Two sessions at the 9th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting (MSMilan2023) focused on nursing. Nurses play a critical role throughout an MS patient's life. And in this episode, we discuss the changing role of MS nurses and the challenges they face, with guests Belinda Bardsley, an N-CRESS (Neuro-Immunology Clinical Research, Education and Support Service) Nurse Manager at Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia; and Ruth Stross, Head of Nursing at Neurology Academy in England. Hosted by Brett Drummond of MS Translate.

Long term use of disease modifying treatments (DMTs) poses challenges in terms of safety and pharmacoeconomics, while preventing disability progression. As such, there is an ongoing debate on how long disease modifying treatments should be continued and if discontinuation should be considered in stable multiple sclerosis. In this episode, Alan Thompson, Editor in Chief of the MS Journal, speaks with Gilles Edan, Professor of Clinical Neurology and chair of the Department of Neurosciences, University Hospital of Rennes; and Eva Strijbis, neurologist at the Department of Neurology, MS Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Medical Centers.

Listen to Clare Walton with MS Society UK and host Brett Drummond discuss the key takeways unveiled on the second day of MSMilan2023.

ECTRIMS Lecturer Dr. Stephen Hauser deep dives into the most relevant insights from day one of MSMilan2023, with host Brett Drummond.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments have been successfully added onto the World Health Organisation's Essential Medicines List (EML) in July 2023. Nick Rijke of the MS International Federation and Deanna Saylor of Johns Hopkins Hospital discuss the impact of this milestone and the next steps for clinicians, researchers, patients, and the MS community at large.

MS affects more women than men. Research on the reasons behind this, and if and how sex-specific processes may impact disease progression, and the symptoms experienced by women living with MS continue to expand. In this episode, Rhonda Voskuhl of UCLA and Elisabeth Celius of University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital discuss these issues and more.

The development of global databases that record and store large amounts of clinical data for people living with MS has made a significant difference to the MS research world. In this episode, we talk to Izanne Roos of the University of Melbourne and Cyrus Daruwalla of the University of Cambridge about the types of registries that currently exist, the importance of collecting observational data and how they used both in their research, which was presented as part of the late-breaking session at ECTRIMS 2022.

A longitudinal study published in 2022 found that infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) dramatically increased the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, suggesting that MS is likely caused by EBV. In this episode, Professor Alberto Ascherio of Harvard University, who led the study, discusses the findings and their preventative and therapeutic implications.

Everyone with MS should have access to the treatment and care that they need. Yet in 70% of countries, people face huge challenges in accessing disease modifying therapies (DMTs). Nick Rijke with the MS International Federation and Deanna Saylor of Johns Hopkins Hospital discuss a recent bid to add MS DMTs to the WHO's Essential Medicines List.

Tomas Kalincik, Head of the Clinical Outcomes Research Unit at the University of Melbourne, and Maria Pia Sormani, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Genoa, discuss the use of real-world data to compare disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in multiple sclerosis, including the advantages and limitations of randomised control trials and observational studies. Hosted by Alan Thompson, Editor-in-Chief of the MS Journal and Professor at University College London.

Will Brown and Alasdair Coles from University of Cambridge discuss remyelination in multiple sclerosis and a promising clinical trial that they are currently involved in.