The National Multiple Sclerosis Society—a group including patients, donors, and Society leaders—recently came out to meet Sanford-Burnham’s Barbara Ranscht, Ph.D., tour her lab, and learn how she and her team are laying the groundwork for future Multiple Sclerosis (MS) therapies.

In MS, a person’s immune system mistakes myelin—the protective coating around nerve fibers in the brain—for a foreign substance and attacks it. As a result, these fibers, called axons, become vulnerable and prone to inducing neurodegeneration and cell death. Ultimately, the brain has trouble telling the rest of the body what to do.

“Myelin is necessary for rapid nerve impulse conduction—those times when you need a quick reaction, like pulling your hand off a hot burner,” Ranscht explained in her talk. “It’s also needed to protect the axons and ensure the health of our neurons.”

Symptoms of MS can be mild, such as numbness in the arms and legs, or severe, causing paralysis, vision loss, or other impairments. Severity and progression vary widely from one individual to another. Approximately 400,000 people in the U.S. are living with MS.

“Many of these MS patients often visit medical clinics to see their doctors and receive treatment, but it’s not often that they get to hear about the science behind it all—what researchers are learning about the disease and what new therapeutic approaches might be coming down the pipeline,” said Richard Israel, president of the Pacific South Coast Chapter of the National MS Society.

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