The ECTRIMS Podcast

With the growing push towards taking a more personalised approach to the treatment and management of multiple sclerosis, it is important to understand the unique issues – both socially and clinically – that may arise among people of different ethnicities. In this episode, Natalie Bursari of The Nerve of My Multiple Sclerosis in the UK and Mitzi Joi Williams of Joi Life Wellness Multiple Sclerosis...

Discussions are ongoing to change the way MS patients are diagnosed and treated. In this episode,  Xavier Montalban, Chair of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis, which is leading the discussions, explains the evolution of the McDonald criteria and why these proposed revisions are important for clinicians and patients alike.

Recent global epidemiological data show that approximately 70% of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis are women.   While this may tell us something about the mechanisms behind disease susceptibility, it also raises a number of unique challenges throughout the MS journey.   In this episode, Ruth Dobson, Professor of Clinical Neurology at Queen Mary University of London, and Emmanuelle Leray, P...

The MSMilan Patient Community Day was designed for people living with multiple sclerosis and related neurological diseases and their caregivers to stay updated and involved in the advancements being made on their journey towards managing their conditions.  In this episode, Tim Coetzee, Chief Advocacy, Services & Science Officer and Bonnie Higgins, Director of the National Multiple Sclerosis Societ...

Why do some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) continue to run marathons while others are in wheelchairs years after diagnosis? Genetics partly explains why. Scientists have identified the first genetic marker for MS severity, which could pave the way for new treatments to prevent disease progression. Sergio Baranzini of University of California San Francisco and Adil Harroud of McGill University...

Descriptors of multiple sclerosis are currently based on a combination of clinical and MRI features, and include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting, secondary and primary progressive subtypes.  Accumulating evidence suggests that the clinical course of MS is better considered as a continuum, with contributions from concurrent pathophysiological processes that vary across individuals...

Two sessions at the 9th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting (MSMilan2023) focused on nursing. Nurses play a critical role throughout an MS patient's life. And in this episode, we discuss the changing role of MS nurses and the challenges they face, with guests Belinda Bardsley, an N-CRESS (Neuro-Immunology Clinical Research, Education and Support Service) Nurse Manager at Austin Health in Melbourne, Aust...

Long term use of disease modifying treatments (DMTs) poses challenges in terms of safety and pharmacoeconomics, while preventing disability progression. As such, there is an ongoing debate on how long disease modifying treatments should be continued and if discontinuation should be considered in stable multiple sclerosis.   In this episode, Alan Thompson, Editor in Chief of the MS Journal, speaks...

Listen to Clare Walton with MS Society UK and host Brett Drummond discuss the key takeways unveiled on the second day of MSMilan2023.

ECTRIMS Lecturer Dr. Stephen Hauser deep dives into the most relevant insights from day one of MSMilan2023, with host Brett Drummond.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments have been successfully added onto the World Health Organisation's Essential Medicines List (EML) in July 2023. Nick Rijke of the MS International Federation and Deanna Saylor of Johns Hopkins Hospital discuss the impact of this milestone and the next steps for clinicians, researchers, patients, and the MS community at large.

MS affects more women than men. Research on the reasons behind this, and if and how sex-specific processes may impact disease progression, and the symptoms experienced by women living with MS continue to expand.   In this episode, Rhonda Voskuhl of UCLA and Elisabeth Celius of University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital discuss these issues and more.

The development of global databases that record and store large amounts of clinical data for people living with MS has made a significant difference to the MS research world.   In this episode, we talk to Izanne Roos of the University of Melbourne and Cyrus Daruwalla of the University of Cambridge about the types of registries that currently exist, the importance of collecting observational data a...

A longitudinal study published in 2022 found that infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) dramatically increased the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, suggesting that MS is likely caused by EBV. In this episode, Professor Alberto Ascherio of Harvard University, who led the study, discusses the findings and their preventative and therapeutic implications .

Everyone with MS should have access to the treatment and care that they need. Yet in 70% of countries, people face huge challenges in accessing disease modifying therapies (DMTs). Nick Rijke with the MS International Federation and Deanna Saylor of Johns Hopkins Hospital discuss a recent bid to add MS DMTs to the WHO's Essential Medicines List.

Tomas Kalincik, Head of the Clinical Outcomes Research Unit at the University of Melbourne, and Maria Pia Sormani, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Genoa, discuss the use of real-world data to compare disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in multiple sclerosis, including the advantages and limitations of randomised control trials and observational studies . Hosted by Alan Thompson, Ed...

Will Brown and Alasdair Coles from University of Cambridge discuss remyelination in multiple sclerosis and a promising clinical trial that they are currently involved in. 

Tomas Kalincik, Head of the Clinical Outcomes Research Unit at the University of Melbourne, explains his research comparing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with existing treatments in relapsing and progressive MS . 

MS Patient Experts Jana Hlavacova with the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform Young People's Network and Helga Weiland, Vice Chair of MS South Africa discuss the involvement of people with MS in conducting research.

Dr. Brigit de Jong from Amsterdam UMC and Professor Alan Thompson from Queens Square Institute of Neurology in London discuss promising, new short-term research data for people with MS unveiled in October during ECTRIMS 2022.

Dr. Daniel Ontaneda from the Cleveland Clinic speaks about promising, new mid-term research data for people with MS unveiled during the October 2022 ECTRIMS Congress. 

This episode discusses a newly proposed initiative by the MS Clinical Trials Committee for a mechanism-driven framework to describe multiple sclerosis; with Daniel Reich from the National Institute of Mental Health, Tanja Kuhlmann from  Münster University, and host Alan Thompson from the MS Journal.

Joelle Massouh from Harley Street Medical Centre  and Piet Eelen from  Nationaal MS Centrum talk about the key takeaways of the Nurse Sessions at  ECTRIMS 2022, including how the role of the MS nurses has changed over the years, as well as why we need more MS nurses globally and what is being done about it.

Listen to ECTRIMS President Mar Tintoré wrap up the key takeaways from ECTRIMS 2022, as well as highlight what you can expect from ECTRIMS' new 365 programme.