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World MS Day logo in nine languages If you haven’t yet taken our survey on MS and Work: The Employer's Perspective, this is your last chance to contribute to an important piece of research.

We want to know what kinds of policies and facilities are in place to enable people with MS around the world to stay in work for longer. We need as many people as possible to take our survey – please take it now. The survey is anonymous and available in nine languages.

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MSIF News


	Summaries of new MSIF activities, events, projects, programmes, resources, publications and more.

2011 McDonald Award: call for nominations

Nominations are now open for MSIF's 2011 McDonald Fellowship and Du Pré Grants.

MSIF meets with Spanish MS Societies

Zoe Burr, Head of International Development at MSIF, spent 24 March with two Spanish MS organisations.

MS in focus 17 published in French

The French edition of MS in focus 17, on Research in MS, is now available to download.

Regards sur la SEP no 17: sur La recherche sur la SEP, est disponible est disponible au téléchargement.

Research News


	Summaries of all the latest research findings on MS selected by a team based at the Institute of Neurology, London.

Inflammation modulates anxiety in an animal model of multiple sclerosis

The rate of affective disorders such as depression and anxiety is at least six fold increased in people with MS. A German group studying a number of behavioural responses in mildly affected MOG-EAE mice (no significant difference in motor performance compared to controls) found that MOG-EAE mice were more likely to exhibit anxiety and depressive like behaviour. Pathologically, these changes were seen to correlate with neuronal loss and increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus, suggesting that chronic inflammation in the CNS may impact on emotional responses in rodent models of anxiety.

authors: Peruga I, Hartwig S, Thöne J, Hovemann B, Gold R, Juckel G, Linker RA.

source: Behav Brain Res. 2011 Jun 20;220(1):20-9

Magnetisation transfer ratio in optic neuritis is associated with axonal loss, but not with demyelination

This unique and interesting study from a group in Australia addresses the controversial debate over the use of magnetic transfer resonance (MTR) imaging as a method for quantification of demyelination. Using optic neuritis as a model, they found that reduction in MTR values was very significantly correlated to axonal loss within the nerve quantified using Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer thickness and the latency of multifocal visual evoked potentials, a measure of optic nerve conduction.

However, the MTR remained normal in a group of patients with extensive demyelination (quantified using multifocal visual evoked potentials), but little or no axonal loss. The results of their study suggest that reduction of optic nerve MTR after an episode of ON has a strong association with the degree of axonal damage, but not with demyelination.

authors: Klistorner A, Chaganti J, Garrick R, Moffat K, Yiannikas C.

source: Neuroimage. 2011 May 1;56(1):21-6

Radial diffusivity predicts demyelination in ex vivo multiple sclerosis spinal cords

In this interesting imaging study radial diffusivity values from human cervical cord were obtained using images acquired post-mortem with a 4.7T MRI. The values were correlated with histochemical staining for demyelination and axonal damage in patients with multiple sclerosis.

In MS patients, increased radial diffusivity distinguished worsening severities of demyelination. Radial diffusivity, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and relative anisotropy (RA) became increasingly altered within quartiles of worsening axonal counts, but axial diffusivity did not correlate with axonal density. The authors conclude that increased radial diffusivity might serve as a surrogate for demyelination. However, radial diffusivity was also altered with axon injury, and given that patients often have a mix of demyelination and axonal loss the authors suggest that radial diffusivity can best serve as a marker of overall tissue integrity within chronic MS lesions.

authors: Klawiter EC, Schmidt RE, Trinkaus K, Liang HF, Budde MD, Naismith RT, Song SK, Cross AH, Benzinger TL.

source: Neuroimage. 2011 Apr 15;55(4):1454-60

MS News


	Summaries of MS news from websites around the world.

Chilean MS Campaigner interviewed on TV

source: Agrupación de Enfermos de Esclerosis Múltiple

Claudia Opazo Ossandon, founder and spokesperson for the Chilean MS group Agrupación de Enfermos de Esclerosis Múltiple, was interviewed on Women First, a TV chat show in Chile, about her campaigning work.

Getting ready for World MS Day 2011

MS Societies around the world are getting ready for World MS Day, 25 May 2011. Last year events were held in more than 67 countries – and this year promises to be even better.

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Multiple Sclerosis International Federation
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