MS Research: What does the “cure” mean?

For people living with multiple sclerosis the “cure” means different things to different people. For people who have just been diagnosed, the cure will stop MS in its tracks. For people who have lived with MS and have experienced loss of mobility and other serious impairments, the cure means repair of the nervous system and recovery of lost functions.For people with a family history of MS, the cure will allow their children or grandchildren to live a life free from MS.

The research funded by the MS Society addresses all three definitions of a cure. Research is multi-faceted but with clear purpose: to find a cure for MS, protect the nervous system and repair damage caused by MS, and improve monitoring and management of the disease.



MS Research Accomplishments During Past 10 Years

MS research continues to advance knowledge of the disease and treatment for people with MS. There is much greater understanding of this unpredictable, often disabling disease. Many of those accomplishments have taken place in the past 10 years thanks to the support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and its sister national MS societies around the world, many governments and private industry. Here are some key advances:

There are treatments for some types of multiple sclerosis.
o They are useful in relapsing MS
o Their impact on development of disability still not clear

Researchers have developed "windows" into the disease through technology.
o MRI scanning assists doctors in diagnosing MS more quickly
o Canadians are leaders in MRI and other magnetic resonance technology to measure disease activity within the central nervous system

We have evidence myelin can and does regrow spontaneously which indicates repair is possible.
o Myelin repair and regrowth takes place in the early stages of MS
o Studies are underway using the body's own cells to repair myelin

Investigators have a better understanding of the nature of MS which means some types of MS can be more effectively managed. This is because of :
o Studies of MS tissue (pathology)
o Studies of the immune system (immunology)
o Studies of the way MS naturally progresses without treatment (natural history studies)

I'm back...!

I’m back….! and training hard for my second go at Ironman Louisville. This year’s race will be held on August 31 and we can’t wait to go back. It was a great experience for all of us last year and we are really looking forward to being in Louisville again this year.

Together we raised over $8000 for MS research last year and I thank you all for your generous donations. Over the last year there has been lot’s going on in MS research and I’ll bring you up to speed on all the good news in future posts. Raising money for MS and being able to share the experience with Barb and giving her my finisher’s medal are what really made the effort meaningful for me. I wanted her to keep the medal until she can get her own. I’ll show you what she did with the medal next post, it ended up back with me!

My training has been going well. I’ve been following my own made up training schedule, based on several different schedules that I’ve read. I am in week 29 of 46 weeks of training and time is flying by. With the great weather we’ve had this past couple of weeks, I’ve been able to get out on bike and have been really pleased with the fitness gains I’ve made over the winter and fortunately, knock on wood, I haven’t missed any training days due to being sick for the entire past 29 weeks.

This year we will be joined in Louisville by my business partner, Tim Hardie and his family. I think I talked the poor guy into doing this last year after my Ironman before he really had a chance to realize what he was getting into. He’s never actually done a triathlon before! He’s been training hard and following Don Fink’s ‘beIronfit’ training schedule. Tim is a great runner and capable of running a sub 3:30 marathon. In fact he did last fall and qualified for the Boston Marathon, which was held last weekend. He wisely decided to defer his entry and concentrate on his Ironman training instead. It just takes too long to recover from the wear and tear of a marathon and it would mean at a minimum, 2 or 3 weeks of reduce training. I’m sure his great running legs will make his day in Louisville.

The race has a few changes this year, first off, they have opened up the field and added about 800 spots over last year, the only place we’d actually see that increase would be the swim start, if they decide to go with a mass start, it would be a bit crowded to say the least. Last year due to flooding north of Louisville, the Army Corps of Engineers were not able to reduce the current in the Ohio River to an acceptable swim against level and they opted for a modified swim course and a one by one time trail start. The other changes will be a change in the run course; the University of Louisville plays football against the University of Kentucky on the same day. The run course last year went right by the front of the stadium twice last year. With 80,000 people at the game, it could get messy trying to run a marathon at the same time. The bike course has been changed due to a bridge closure and the general thinking is that they will be adding a long hill to make the new course work. Great, another hill!

Click Here to Read the MS Society Spring Newsletter, Featuring an Article about Barb & I.