In early October the UK MS Register team travelled to Milan for the ECTRIMS conference (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) to share our research, learn from other projects, and make new contacts with collaborators from across the world. 

This annual event is the world’s largest MS research meeting, this year hosting over 9000 Academics, Researchers and Clinicians in the field of MS, from more than 100 countries. The conference aims to address the most relevant issues facing MS & neurological experts today. 

UKMSR were one of 50 exhibitors and had a stand alongside other European registries. The team were kept busy with lots of interest from passing delegates keen to learn more about the Register and our research. 

In addition, we were pleased to have multiple abstracts and three presentations based on our data accepted. ECTRIMS presents a brilliant opportunity to share our research and hear about other work happing in the field of MS.

Abstracts included: 

Dr. James Witts, Research Analyst UKMSR & Dr. Richard Nicholas, UKMSR Clinical lead

• Increased risk of cancer in Multiple Sclerosis: a birth cohort study in Wales using routinely collected data

Dr. Jeff Rogers, Research Analyst UKMSR

• Treating depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis (MS): the benefits of anti-depressants and interactions with disease modifying treatments (DMT)

Dr. Steve Simpson-Yap, University of Melbourne & Dr. Shelly Coe, Oxford Brookes

• Healthy diet patterns are associated with higher quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional study within the UK MS Register

Dr. Richard Nicholas, UKMSR Clinical lead 

Researchers from Oxford Brookes University, the University of Melbourne and Imperial College London looked at:  

• Incidence and Risk of Cancer among MS Patients: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Wales 
• A healthy diet is associated with less clinical severity in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional study within the UK MS Register 

Sarah Knowles, Research Analyst UKMSR 

• Equality, diversity and inclusion profile of MS in the UK 

Sarah Knowles & Dr. Jeff Rogers, Research Analysts UKMSR

• Examining the impact of HRT on patient reported outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis 

Noa Bar Zohar, MSc Student, Imperial College London & Sarah Knowles, Research Analysts UKMSR

• Factors associated with T2 MRI Brain Age Changes Over Time in Multiple Sclerosis

Elaine Craig, Research Analyst UKMSR 

• Paediatric Onset of MS: Data from the UK MS Register

Dr. Ruth Dobson, Queen Mary University of London

• Increasing medication exposure in MS pregnancies: results from the UK MS Pregnancy Register

Annalaura Lerede, Imperial College London

• A reduced battery of online cognitive tasks specific to MS

Talks: 

Dr Owain Howells, Senior Lecturer, Swansea University Medical School 

• The demographics, clinical course and pathology of late-onset MS reveals an age associated change in the balance of inflammation, demyelination and neurodegeneration. 

Valentina Giunchiglia, PhD Student, Imperial College London 

• The motor and cognitive components of impaired performance in online cognitive tasks and their association to patients reported outcomes 

Hajer Karoui, Research Assistant, Imperial College London 

• Assessing cognitive health: A study on potential markers of cognitive decline in healthy and MS populations

Dr. Rod Middleton, UKMSR CI, said: “ECTRIMS is always a fantastic opportunity to network with key figures in the MS research community. It’s especially rewarding to see UK MS Register data being presented and shared on the international stage.” 

The Register have such a rich bank of data which enables researchers to study a wide variety of factors associated with MS, but we couldn’t do this without our participants on the Register and NHS hospitals – so thank you all!  

Find out more about ECTRIMS 2023 here.