Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Multiple sclerosis or MS is a disease that attacks myelin, the protective covering of nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world: an estimated 77,000 Canadians are living with the disease. It is most often diagnosed in young adults aged 20 to 49; however, both younger children and older adults are also diagnosed with MS. In MS, loss of myelin disrupts communication in the nervous system. The resulting symptoms including weakness, vision problems, bladder problems and cognitive impairment. In early stages of MS, these symptoms come and go; communication in the nervous system is disrupted but not eliminated. In later stages, nerve fibres that have lost their protective myelin coating are damaged and disability becomes permanent. Many scientists are studying treatments to restore protective myelin after it is lost. However, most of the research to date studies MS and myelin in cells and animals that are very young, corresponding to a maximum of ~20 years old in humans. Since the nervous system becomes more vulnerable to damage and less able to repair itself as we get older, this raises a major question: can we regrow myelin in the adult brain, to treat people with MS? In this project, we will study cells that form myelin (called glia) that are produced from older animal models. We will examine a part of the brain that is important and previously understudied. Finally, we will test a drug (Metformin) that is already in use to treat type-2 diabetes; Metformin was recently shown to help myelin regrow in some parts of the nervous system. This research will determine whether previous research findings are relevant to the majority of Canadians living with MS (as older adults). By studying myelin in a setting that is closer to the clinical reality of the disease, we hope to identify treatments (Metformin and/or others) to improve symptoms of people living with MS and ultimately cure or halt progression of this disease.