People with multiple sclerosis will describe how they are affected by this disease of the brain and spinal cord. It starts in early adulthood and initially consists of attacks, which come and go, due to inflammation in the brain. Later in the illness, people develop progressive disability. In 1993, the first drug to suppress the inflammation in multiple sclerosis became available. Since then, several treatments have been developed, that are increasingly effective in reducing the attacks of multiple sclerosis. We will show how this first battle in the war against multiple sclerosis has nearly been won. However, that still leaves people with some scarring in the brain, with the threat of progressive disability in the future. We will hear from scientists at Cambridge who have recently developed exciting strategies to encourage the brain to repair itself. And participants in a trial of one of these approaches will describe their experience.
Professor Alasdair Coles has been in Cambridge since 1993, having trained at Oxford, London and Nottingham. He is a neurologist at Addenbrooke’s who specialises in treating immunological diseases of the brain. He also researches the effects of neurological diseases on religious faith.
