Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

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Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system

Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues. The Ottawa Hospital is conducting cutting-edge research to improve our understanding of autoimmune diseases of the nervous system and develop better treatments.

Research News

	Lab discovery suggests possible new approach for treating progressive multiple sclerosis July 26, 2024 - A new study from The Ottawa Hospital and uOttawa shows that a microRNA molecule called miR-145-5p could be key to developing new treatments for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).
	Study strengthens link between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis April 23, 2024 - “Our findings help confirm a strong relationship between MS and the Epstein-Barr virus across the lifespan, which could be a new target for treatment and prevention.”
	Can a blood test predict if MS attacks will come back after stopping treatment? March 15, 2024 - Some people prefer to stop immune-suppressing treatment if their disease has been stable for years, but there’s no way to know whether their symptoms will return.
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	Ottawa scientist wins Canada's top stem cell prize for multiple sclerosis trial September 6, 2017 - Dr. Harold Atkins, stem cell transplant physician and scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, will receive the prestigious Till & McCulloch Award for “exceptional contributions to global stem cell research.” The award will
	Common acne medication shows promise in treating multiple sclerosis June 1, 2017 - Clinical trial shows that minocycline, an oral acne medication, can slow the progress of relapsing-remitting MS A common oral acne medication could provide new, affordable treatment options for Canadians suffering from relapsing-remitting multip
	Information for patients: Chemo and blood stem cell transplantation for rare autoimmune diseases January 4, 2017 - A number of media stories have recently highlighted The Ottawa Hospital’s use of chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplantation to treat rare autoimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, stiff person syndrome and scleroderma. These stories have
	Stem cell procedure sends patients with severe myasthenia gravis into remission November 17, 2016 - A stem cell procedure that reboots the immune system sent seven patients with a severe form of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis into long-term remission, according to a retrospective study published in JAMA Neurology. In this disease th
	MS breakthrough: Replacing diseased immune system halts progression and allows repair June 9, 2016 - Clinical trial suggests chemo and blood stem cell combination therapy should be considered for people with early, aggressive MS A clinical trial published in The Lancet, a top medical journal, shows that an intensive procedure that completely wipe
	The Ottawa Hospital leads first Canadian clinical trial of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis January 29, 2015 - The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation announced today a $4.2 million grant to support the first Canadian clinical trial of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), led by

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Atkins, Harold MD, FRCPC	Senior Clinician Investigator (CR)	Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Myasthenia gravis, Stiff person syndrome	Basic research, Cancer biotherapeutics, Cancer immunotherapy, Cell therapy, Clinical trials, Immunotherapy, Oncolytic viruses, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
Bose, Gauruv MD, FRCPC	Associate Scientist (NS)	Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Multiple sclerosis	Artificial intelligence and data science, Biomarkers, Clinical decision rules, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Health economics
Fadda, Giulia MD	Associate Scientist (NS)	Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Multiple sclerosis	Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Biostatistics, Clinical research, Imaging, Immunotherapy, Molecular and cellular biology, Patient engagement, Translational research
Mattar, Pierre PhD	Senior Scientist (RM)	Autism, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Glaucoma, Intellectual disabilities, Macular degeneration, Retinal disease, Vision	Basic research, Bioinformatics, Cell therapy, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Genetics, Genomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Systems biology, Transgenic/knockout models
Santos, Marlise MD (FRCPC), MSc, MPH	Clinician Investigator (NS)	Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Ataxia, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Cancer, Concussion, Dementia, Depression, Global health, Head and neck cancer, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Infectious disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Population health, Sickle cell anemia, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Traumatic brain injury, Traumatic injuries, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Behaviour, Biostatistics, Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Prevention, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Walker, Lisa PhD, C.Psych	Clinician Investigator (NS)	Anxiety, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Dementia, Depression, Mental health, Multiple sclerosis	Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Exercise, Imaging, Psychology, Psychometrics, Rehabilitation, Stem cells, Systematic reviews, Translational research

Related Resources

Information for patients: Chemo and blood stem cell transplantation for rare autoimmune diseases

Multiple sclerosis research at The Ottawa Hospital

Myasthenia gravis research at The Ottawa Hospital

Stiff person syndrome research at The Ottawa Hospital

Search for clinical trials at The Ottawa Hospital related to this disease or condition.