Answering questions on progressive MS treatment and research

If you missed the latest International Progressive MS Alliance live-stream, don’t worry – you can catch up now!  During this 30-minute webcast, the expert panel answered real questions submitted by people affected by MS from right across the global MS community.

From symptom management and well-being to the development of treatments that can slow progression and rebuild myelin, this webcast provides answers to help improve quality of life and keep you informed.

The webcast is available with English, Spanish, Arabic and Italian subtitles (with French subtitles coming soon). To turn the subtitles on, click on the settings cog at the bottom of the video and select the language you need.

The webcast is expertly hosted by Renuka Malaker (India) and she was joined by panellists Jorge Correale (Argentina), Anthony Feinstein (Canada) and Emma Gray (UK).

About the panellists

Jorge Correale, MD is Head of Neuroimmunology and Demyelinating Diseases at the Dr Raúl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Neurology and Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Immunology at the University of Southern California. He is a member of the Argentine Medical Advisory Board for Multiple Sclerosis and the Deputy Chair of MSIF’s International Medical and Scientific Advisory Board.

His major research interests are in neuroimmunology, demyelinating diseases, and glial cell biology. He has authored more than 100 papers, published in neurology and immunology peer-reviewed journals. In addition, he has written over 30 chapters in books on MS and neuroimmunology. He has received numerous awards for his research on treatments for MS, and he participates as a member of several professional societies.

Emma Gray, PhD is Assistant Director of Research at the MS Society, UK. She leads the strategic development of the MS Society’s broad research programme including the UK MS Register, MS Society Tissue Bank, translational Centres of Excellence and a novel and evolving innovative clinical trials programme, including the ground-breaking OCTOPUS trial platform. She also has responsibility for the Patient Public Involvement and research communications programmes.

Before joining the MS Society in 2012, she gained a PhD in molecular neuroscience and worked as a post-doctoral researcher at King’s College London with a focus on molecular and cellular processes associated with neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

Anthony Feinstein, MPhil, PhD, FRCP is professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and runs the neuropsychiatry program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He runs a clinical service and research team focusing on the neuropsychiatric changes that commonly occur in people with multiple sclerosis. He is past chair of the Medical Advisory Committee of the MS Society of Canada and a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Progressive MS Alliance.

His current MS-related research focuses on three areas: (1) Directing an international effort (11 centres, 6 countries) to determine whether cognitive dysfunction in people with progressive MS can improve with combined cognitive rehabilitation and individually tailored aerobic exercise; (2) To determine the cognitive and brain MRI changes linked to cannabis use; (3) To develop and implement computer driven models of cognitive assessment. Dr. Feinstein is the author of over 250 MS-related publications and The Clinical Neuropsychiatry of Multiple Sclerosis. Among the honors he has received are a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Peabody Award.

Renuka Malaker, has served as a volunteer with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India for over 20 years and is the primary caregiver of her husband who was diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS in 1998.

For the last five years, she has been the Honorary National Secretary with the Society, working closely with the regional chapters to build the narrative of rights and inclusion both at the central and state level for people with MS. She also works with diverse stakeholders including other government disability organisations, corporations, pharmaceutical companies and the media to ensure the voices and needs of people with MS are heard by policymakers and at the national and international levels. Her leadership has helped establish new connections with MS societies in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan to build an understanding of needs, similarities and challenges based on similar socio-economic and cultural disposition and explore ways to start a South Asia regional dialogue on MS.