Can scientists turn back the clock?

For the past twenty years, Dr Steven Petratos has been obsessed with a protein in the brain called the "Nogo receptor," or NgR1, and how it affects MS.

His research was the first to show that this receptor can cause damage to the spinal cord and optic nerve after an injury with a disease like MS.

His team also found what causes damage to the tiny nerve cables that send messages around the body that can cause many of the problems people living with MS experience.

MS strips away myelin, a protective layer around nerve fibres in the brain and spinal chord. Dr Petratos is excited because he believes his research will eventually help scientists reverse this through a process known as remyelination.

According to him, this may mean that in the future, “People living with MS can have a better quality of life with limited or no progression.”

Dr Steven Petratos is also hugely grateful. This vital work would not be possible without donations from the generous MS Plus community.

“Right now, MS researchers like myself are working feverishly to give back what MS takes away from far too many lives.

"Without the donors, we would not be able to develop such novel therapies right here in Australia.”

He adds, “Moreover, without these funds, we would not be able to recruit the next generation of MS researchers that will go on to develop the next generation of groundbreaking therapies or even a potential cure for MS.”

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