The St Vincent’s Curran Foundation and MS Research Australia are delighted to host this special webinar as part of St Vincent’s Research Week 2020.

The promise of Cellular Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis includes interviews with A/Professor John Moore, Dr Jennifer Massey and patient, Justine Marendziak.

St Vincent’s extends a special thanks to the ABC’s National Medical Reporter, Sophie Scott, for facilitating the webinar discussion.

MS a degenerative condition where the immune system attacks the protective layer around the nerve fibres, cutting the signals along the nervous system and brain. It effects over 25,000 people in Australia. While there is no known cure for MS, St Vincent’s Hospital has been a pioneer in the application of stem cell therapies that have shown to reduce symptoms and slow progression of the disease. With the support of MS Research Australia, the expansion of this research program will improve our understanding of the profound immune changes that occur in patients who receive cell-based treatments. Stem-cell transplantation is an intensive procedure and there are risks associated with the treatment. The 5-year partnership between MS Research and St Vincent’s also aims to clarify who best responds to treatment as well as ensure that more people with MS can access stem cell therapies under observational trial conditions.