Hunter Medical Research Institute researcher, Professor Jeannette Lechner-Scott from the Newcastle MS Clinic, will lead the PLATYPUS trial when it launches in Newcastle.

The trial is investigating several promising medications to see if they can delay disease progression in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PMS). Approximately 1600 people with PMS will be enrolled in the studies over the next five years.

Progressive MS can include both Primary (PPMS) and Secondary Progressive MS. PPMS is diagnosed in about 10-15% of individuals with multiple sclerosis, and marked by a continuous worsening of symptoms and disability from the onset, with no periods of recovery or remission. Seondary Progressive MS is marked by a phase of relapsing-remitting MS that can develop years following initial onset of symptoms.

This clinical trial is significant for two reasons: it aims to address the unmet need for treatments of PMS, and it utilises an exciting new clinical trial design called adaptive clinical trials.

An adaptive clinical trial (ACT) uses a new design whereby interim examinations of the accumulating study data occur as the trial progresses, rather than the traditional way of waiting until the end of the study. By doing this, changes can be made to the trial in real-time, such as changes to doses, adding new medications or dropping medications that don’t seem to be working as well.

The PLATYPUS trial is just one of many studies in progressive MS next to other projects that Professor Lechner-Scott is working on in her clinic.

She says, “We have received a one million dollar international grant to identify epigenetic changes underlying progression in MS and have started our ARTIMS study, identifying factors that influence the outcome of artificial reproductive therapy in MS. We also have a number of clinical trials coming up treating fatigue in MS with view on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and more.”

About Newcastle MS Clinic

The Newcastle MS Clinic combines the resources of the John Hunter Hospital and the Hunter Medical Research Institute. The team is multidisciplinary (medical, nursing, administrative and researchers) with streamlined access to other care providers, both public and privately-based to hostically support the person with neuroimmunological disease. The Clinic is led by Professor Jeanette Lechner-Scott, a clinician-scientist, senior staff specialist at the John Hunter Hospital and a conjoint Professor at the University of Newcastle.

Find out more here