Dr Judith Greer

University of Queensland

Project

Working out why lesions occur where they do in MS

Co-Investigators

Prof Michael Pender, University of Queensland

Funding

$270,000 from the MS Angels for 2010 - 2012

Project Summary

Despite the potential for MS lesions to occur anywhere throughout the brain and spinal cord, many people with MS develop lesions that have a more restricted distribution. We have shown recently that, in a subgroup of people who develop MS affecting areas of the brain that control balance and coordination, a molecule called PLP is a major target of the autoimmune attack.

The long-term aim of this work is to specifically stop the attack on PLP; however, in order to do this, a better idea of exactly how the immune system attacks PLP and why this leads to development of lesions in a fairly restricted area of the brain is necessary. This application will therefore investigate these issues.