Treating Multiple Sclerosis

Please join us for our event to hear from Professor Anne La Flamme who will be discussing the development of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves.

In MS, resulting nerve damage disrupts communication between the brain and the body. Multiple sclerosis causes many different symptoms, including vision loss, pain, fatigue and impaired coordination. The symptoms, severity and duration can vary from person to person. Some people may be symptom free for most of their lives, while others can have severe, chronic symptoms that never go away. Physiotherapy and medication that suppress the immune system can help with symptoms, and slow disease progression.

During this event, Professor La Flamme will cover the idea of re-purposing existing drugs to treat MS along with its advantages and its sometimes-unexpected findings. This talk will look at not only the biology, but the logistical issues faced when developing therapeutics for degenerative diseases such as MS.

Professor Anne La Flamme is a Professor of Immunology at Victoria University of Wellington with a primary research specialty in the immune regulation of disease. Recently she has been working on identifying new therapeutic targets and drugs to treat MS, collaborating with national and international researchers to develop therapies to promote repair of the neurological damage that occurs during MS.

Professor La Flamme has been the recipient of multiple Neurological Foundation travel grants and research grants seek to gain a greater understanding of MS and to discover new treatments that will benefit all people with MS.