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Multiple sclerosis

The Ottawa Hospital is conducting cutting-edge research to improve our understanding of multiple sclerosis and develop better treatments. This page includes selected news stories about our multiple sclerosis research, links to researchers working in this area and related resources. Learn more below.

Research News


Lab discovery suggests possible new approach for treating progressive multiple sclerosis 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 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? 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.
Show more news stories


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
Aviv, Richard
MBChB, FRCR (UK), FRCPC, dABR
Clinician Investigator
(NS)
Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Head and neck cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Traumatic brain injury, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Big data, Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Cluster randomized trials, Disease models, Health economics, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Quality Improvement, Translational research
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
Chakraborty, Santanu
MBBS, MRCP, DMRD, FRCR, FRCP(C)
Senior Clinician Investigator
(NS)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Brain cancer, Concussion, Dementia, Head and neck cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Traumatic brain injury Bioinformatics, Clinical research, Health economics, Health professional behaviour change, Imaging, Immunization, Patient safety, Quality Improvement, Risk assessment
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
Freedman, Mark
HBSc, MSc, MD, CSPQ, FAAN, FRCPC
Senior Scientist
(NS)
Multiple sclerosis Cell therapy, Clinical research, Regenerative medicine, Clinical trials
Kothary, Rashmi
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
(RM)
Neuromuscular disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Spinal muscular atrophy Basic research, Disease models, Drug development, Epigenetics, Epigenetics, Gene therapy, Genetics, Imaging, Lipidomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Picketts, David
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
(RM)
Autism, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Vision Basic research, Disease models, Epigenetics, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Ramsay, Timothy
PhD
Senior Scientist
(MIR)
Addiction, Alzheimer's, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Anxiety, Ataxia, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Colorectal cancer, Concussion, Cystic fibrosis, Dementia, Depression, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, HIV, Immigrant and refugee health, Influenza, Kidney disease, Lung cancer, Macular degeneration, Men's health, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia gravis, Obesity, Ovarian cancer, Parkinson's, Pulmonary hypertension, Septic shock, Spinal cord injury Artificial intelligence and data science, Behaviour, Biomaterials, Biostatistics, Cell therapy, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Drug development, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health promotion, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Prevention, Psychology, Psychometrics, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Regenerative medicine, Rehabilitation, Risk assessment, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews, Transfusions, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
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
Wang, Jing
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
(RM)
Alzheimer's, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke Cell therapy, Disease models, Epigenetics, Imaging, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models




Clinical Trials

The following list of clinical trials is pulled from ClinicalTrials.gov using the search terms "Multiple sclerosis” and “Ottawa Hospital.” More advanced search options are available. If you find a clinical trial that interests you, you can bring the information to the next appointment with your care team and ask if you are eligible for the study. If so, they may be able to refer you to the study team. Visit ohri.ca/patients to learn more about participating in research and clinical trials.

Note that ClinicalTrials.gov is hosted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is only available in English. Please note that we cannot guarantee a response from the person listed in the ‘Contact’ column.

NCTTitleConditionStatusContact
NCT05781113A Novel Wearable Digital Biomarker for Detecting Changes in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Condition (NCT05781113)Multiple SclerosisRECRUITING 
NCT04035005A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ocrelizumab in Adults With Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (NCT04035005)Multiple Sclerosis, Primary ProgressiveRECRUITING 


Publications

The following research publications are pulled from PubMed using the search terms "Multiple sclerosis" and "Ottawa Hospital", with publication date of 2020 or later. More advanced search options are available. Note that PubMed is hosted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is only available in English.

MRI graph parameters are longitudinal markers of neuronal integrity in multiple sclerosis.
2024-11-04

Choroid Plexus Volume in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis.
2024-10-23

Risk of cancer development associated with disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis: study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised and non-randomised studies.
2024-10-19

Brain volume loss in relapsing multiple sclerosis: indirect treatment comparisons of available disease-modifying therapies.
2024-10-09

Physiological fitness in people with advanced multiple sclerosis.
2024-09-09

Slowly Expanding Lesions Differentiate Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis from Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease.
2024-09-07

Investigation of health care use and a possible prodrome before the first attack in NMOSD and MOGAD.
2024-09-05

Comparative efficacy of diroximel fumarate, ozanimod and interferon beta-1a for relapsing multiple sclerosis using matching-adjusted indirect comparisons.
2024-08-19

A Comprehensive Review of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy and Its Association with Multiple Sclerosis-Like Phenotypes Known as Harding's Disease.
2024-08-05

Typical and Emerging Diagnostic MRI Features in Multiple Sclerosis.
2024-07-24

View more on PubMed