To achieve the vision of a world free of MS, the National MS Society is a driving force of MS research, relentlessly pursuing prevention, treatment and cure. We devote nearly $50 million each year to a spectrum of key initiatives and other projects based on the guiding principles of Speed, Collaboration and Possibilities:
- Speed
Finding expeditious ways to conduct research, forge relationships, bridge barriers and garner resources to propel research forward - Collaboration
Fostering coalitions worldwide with experts in other fields and diseases to make rapid and meaningful progress - Possibilities
Fueling novel ideas, potential therapies, projects and technologies to discover and pursue every avenue that holds promise
Right now, our researchers are developing and testing novel experimental treatments and tissue repair strategies that may soon be in use for MS. Read more about the progress we’ve made and intriguing leads being pursued by MS investigators.
Research Scope and Philosophy
We strive to fund the best, most relevant research in the U.S. and abroad aimed at moving us closer to a world free of MS
Areas of Research Focus
We support more than 440 research grants and training fellowships on a broad range of topics relevant to MS, including immune aspects, nerve tissue repair and myelin biology, clinical trials, rehabilitation, psychosocial issues and health care delivery. We are also pursuing some key areas of emerging opportunity and need, including:
- Targeted Initiatives —Funding vital MS research and care through the Promise: 2010 Initiative and speeding treatments to people with MS through the Fast Forward™ initiative.
- Collaborative MS Research Centers —These special centers combine the expertise of top MS researchers with scientists outside the field of MS who are using cutting-edge technologies to engage in large-scale explorations, gaining from each other’s experience.
- High-Risk Pilot Research —These unique grants fund short-term investigations on new, untested ideas, allowing researchers to quickly determine if their novel ideas are worth pursuing.
- Research on Progressive MS — Although many of the Society’s research studies explore virtually every aspect of MS and more basic aspects of how the nervous system and immune system works, some studies focus specifically on progressive forms of MS.
Recent Research News
Flu Vaccines—2009-2010
Nov 19, 2009
Update on flu vaccines, including H1N1 vaccine.
Pregnancy Study Shows Increase in C-Sections and Slightly Lower Fetal Size among Women with MS
Nov 18, 2009
A new study of pregnancy hospitalizations in a large national sample of women with MS shows that the disease is associated with a significant increase in cesarean deliveries and in intrauterine growth restriction (fetal weight below the 10th percentile). However, blood pressure disorders and premature rupture of membranes were not increased. Victoria Kelly, MD, Eliza F. Chakravarty, MD, and colleagues (Stanford University School of Medicine) report what they term “generally reassuring” findings in Neurology (Early online publication, November 18, 2009).
New Data Support Early Interferon Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis
Nov 12, 2009
In a study of 2,570 people with MS, early treatment with interferon therapy was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of MS progression. Maria Trojano, MD (University of Bari, Italy) and colleagues from 14 other Italian centers report their findings in Annals of Neurology. (2009 May 28;66(4):513-520)
Harvard Study Links Teen Obesity in Girls to Increased Risk of Developing MS
Nov 11, 2009
A study of more than 200,000 female nurses suggests that those who were obese at the age of 18 were twice as likely to develop MS later in life. Obesity during earlier childhood or in adulthood was not associated with increased MS risk. Based on this study in women, it is not clear whether the same would hold true for teenaged boys. Kassandra L. Munger, ScD, Alberto Ascherio, MD, DrPH, and colleagues (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston) report their findings in Neurology (2009;73:1543-1550).
Minimally Invasive Radiosurgery May Improve MS Facial Pain that Does Not Respond to Drugs
Nov 11, 2009
Researchers report that minimally invasive surgery using precision radiation (known as gamma knife radiosurgery) relieved facial pain known as trigeminal neuralgia in a group of 37 people who had not fully responded to standard treatments. Dr. Douglas S. Kondziolka (Peter J. Jannetta Professor of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) and colleagues report their findings in Neurology (2009;73:1149-1154).