Chemokine induction by antigen/antibody complexes: a novel mechanism contributing to disease progression in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects over 1 in 500 people in Scotland, but despite recent advances we still
lack any treatments that halt accumulation of disability in this devastating disease. This failure
reflects our ignorance of what is actually happening within the patient’s brain and spinal cord. This
study will build on exciting new findings suggesting this involves an antibody-dependent mechanism
that drives a positive feedback loop that sustains inflammatory disease activity within the central
nervous system. This project will seek to validate this hypothesis, which if correct will result in new
therapeutic strategies for MS.