 |
|
Raising $250 million for Become an MS Research Champion NOW Brochure (.pdf) |
The complexity of MS necessitates a holistic approach when it comes to research – a comprehensive strategy that can propel knowledge, better treatments, health care policies, and new disease management therapies forward, faster.
We are a driving force of MS research and treatment to stop disease progression, restore function, and end MS forever.
The National MS Society supports and funds research activities spanning ALL research stages, including early discovery research, translational research that brings promising ideas forward into actual therapeutic solutions for testing, and clinical trials. Our unique approach drives the pursuit of all promising avenues that can impact those living with multiple sclerosis.
We drive progress through a comprehensive approach to research review and funding, including a variety of Society programs, and our Fast Forward initiative, focused on advancing the transition of promising new therapies to rapid commercial development and understanding mechanisms underlying the 
Intriguing Leads on the Horizon
Research News
Clinical Trials
Researchers Need You
How Far We’ve Come
For Researchers
Research We Fund
Recent Research News
Latest results about emerging MS therapies, risk factors, disease mechanisms, rehabilitation, CCSVI, and much more presented at AAN Meeting
May 16, 2012
Nearly 12,000 neurologists and investigators convened in New Orleans in April to present findings at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting. Over 500 scientific presentations and display posters focused on research to stop MS, restore function, and end MS forever. The MS sessions were often standing-room only, and appear to get bigger every year. Among these were the latest results from pivotal clinical trials of emerging MS therapies, possible risk factors, underlying disease mechanisms, rehabilitation approaches, CCSVI, and much more.
Small Study Reports Benefit of Marijuana on MS Spasticity
May 14, 2012
A small clinical trial by California investigators found some benefit of smoked marijuana against spasticity (muscle tightness and spasms) and pain in people with MS. Participants also experienced significantly reduced thinking ability after smoking marijuana, highlighting the need for research on cannabis products or other treatments that can more selectively reduce painful symptoms without producing adverse effects on cognitive function. Additional research examining the effects of marijuana on spasticity in MS is being supported by the National MS Society and others. The current study was published online on May 14, 2012 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Speeding Clinical Trials for People with Progressive MS: Outcomes Published from an International Workshop on MS Disability Measurement Tools
May 11, 2012
Disease progression, or gradual worsening, experienced by people who have multiple sclerosis usually occurs over many years, and it is difficult to track with the standard clinical measurement scales used by doctors to assess disease activity. An international meeting was convened to determine how to improve clinical measures so that MS progression can be better tracked, especially during clinical trials of experimental therapies aimed at stopping progression. Better ways of measuring changes in disability will help to speed the development of new therapies for MS, in particular for progressive forms of the disease.