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Research Projects Supported By The Repository
We are developing this repository to provide a much needed resource to the
research community -- high-quality samples and associated
data from subjects with MS and selected other demyelinating diseases, and their
affected and unaffected relatives and unrelated matched controls. Samples
and data are available to researchers studying the causes of these
diseases. You can review the instructions and application for samples and data
here.
Our repository has enabled the following research:
Stanford School of Medicine Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine are using samples collected
during the pilot phase of the repository to assess the presence of antibodies
that target the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). Their research is focused on the
role of the BBB in the progression of MS and whether the BBB is the target of
an immune response which may lead to MS.
Syracuse VA Medical Center; SUNY Upstate Medical University
In December 2006, the repository oversight committee approved a sample and
data request from researchers at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. The research
team will be using samples from MS subjects to explore the gene variations in
MS subjects and unaffected healthy individuals to determine how genetics may
contribute to the development of MS. They will also research whether these
genetic variations correlate with disease severity. Samples and data will
be distributed from the repository to this research team during 2007.
Montreal Neurological Institute
Researchers at Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) are using samples
collected during the pilot phase of the repository to investigate a
number of possible myelin damage markers that may be detectable in the
serum of MS subjects.
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
A research team from Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) used samples
collected during the pilot phase of the repository to study the relationship
between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and MS. Building upon their prior work
studying EBV and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) the researchers focused on
studying the response of MS subjects to EBV, based on the hypothesis that the
immune system response of MS patients to EBV differs from that of non-affected
individuals, while their responses to other common viruses (chickenpox, herpes
simplex 1 and 2, etc.) are quite similar.
The team presented their findings at the Federation of Clinical Immunology
Societies (FOCIS) annual meeting in June 2006. Based on the samples from
MS subjects and unaffected controls that they studied, they reported that
MS subjects did appear to have a unique response to the major nuclear antigen
of EBV, EBNA-1.
The OMRF team returned per sample research results in December 2006 for
inclusion in the repository.
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