Australia is tipped to play a key role in unlocking the devastating secrets of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
So this week (17 March), a passionate group of advocates for MS research – including a world-leading health investor – met in Canberra to present the Federal Government with news on progress towards the possible prevention of MS and a portfolio of vital new MS research programs This presentation follows recent Australian discoveries that have already received global recognition.
The group is hopeful that the Federal Government will commit $5 million this year for these programs – with a promise this will be matched by donations from private foundations and the general community raised through MS Research Australia (MSRA). MSRA, the Australian arm of MS Australia, has increased community funding for MS research five-fold since its establishment in 2004.
Dr John Richert, Vice President of Research and Clinical Programs for the US National MS Society – who oversees the world’s largest private budget for MS research – agrees with Australian scientists that the timing of life-saving research results depends largely on funding. Adding his voice to the call for increased investment in health is former Maritime Union of Australia leader, John Coombs, whose family lives with the trauma of MS.
Dr Richert backs his appeal for more Government funding by directly investing A$1 million of his US$40 million annual budget in Australian research. MS costs the community more than $2 billion per annum – a burden which calls for more than the (approx) A$3 million per annum currently allocated for MS research through the National Health and Medical Research Council.
MS also has a personal cost that is hard to measure for people living with MS. Their day-to-day lives include pain and uncertainty; hoping they can cross the street, hoping they can keep their jobs, hoping they will avoid entering a nursing home.
‘There is an opportunity for the Government to help Australian MS researchers in ground-breaking discoveries which will affect millions worldwide, including new diagnostic tools, MS prevention strategies and more targeted treatments,’ says Dr Richert. ‘Australian scientists punch well above their weight, especially considering their limited funding. But their efforts should not just be well regarded but also well resourced and integrated into clinical practice.’
Australian MS researchers are at the forefront in understanding the environmental and viral factors which could trigger MS. One Australian study has confirmed the ‘latitude gradient’ effect, which shows Tasmanians are eight times more likely to develop MS than Queenslanders. These results complement a new UK finding which links a lack of vitamin D to MS – findings that could lead to an important MS prevention trial, for which Australia is an ideal laboratory.
Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia was set up in 2004 by MS Australia to lift the MS research effort by raising funds and steering national research based on five interrelated platforms. It advances knowledge of treatments, a cause and cure for MS by targeting research in which Australia can lead the world. Visit www.msra.org.au
