Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world. In MS, the accumulation of nerve damage results in progressive disability. This progression is thought to be due in part to the effect of age on the repair of damaged nerves. As an individual ages, the ability to repair damaged nerves becomes slower. There is a lack of available treatments designed to increase the speed of repair. This project is seeking to understand why repair slows down with ageing and to potentially discover new treatments that can speed up repair. This study may provide a new treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis that will help slow down or potentially reverse the build-up of disability. This will be accomplished by studying a cell type involved in nerve repair that has not been thoroughly studied before. There is strong reason to think that this cell type, which is called an astrocyte, slows down the repair process during ageing. In this study, some of the molecules produced by ageing astrocytes will be investigated. These molecules will then be targeted to increase nerve repair. This strategy will provide new knowledge as to why repair slows down with ageing and may identify a new treatment for the thousands of Canadians suffering from MS.