Participants sought: Immunobiology of pregnancy in MS and NMOSD

Pregnancy may have beneficial health effects for women with relapsing-remitting MS in the form of less long-term disability. 

Participants are sought for our research project, in which we are seeking to identify the biological mechanisms that underpin this benefit by following Australian women with and without MS over a 3-5 year period. In these women, we will track changes that occur to the immune system before, during, and after pregnancy, and compare these changes against the immune activity in women of the same age who do not have children. 

Drug treatment benefit for pregnant women with multiple sclerosis

Lead and senior authors on the pregnancy and MS medication
paper, Drs Wei Yeh and Vilija Jokubaitis. See video (1:44 min).

A recent study by Monash University has highlighted the benefit for pregnant women with MS who continue with a disease modifying treatment during and after pregnancy. 

Using data from the international MSBase registry, the findings published in Neurology, revealed that women with MS who continued to take natalizumab (Tysabri) through and after their pregnancy had a decrease in relapse rates by up to 89 per cent.  In contrast, women with MS who stopped taking natalizumab (Tysabri) and another therapy, fingolimod (Gilenya), before conception had an increase in relapse rates. 

Research update: Pregnancy as a Multiple Sclerosis disease modifier

See Dr Vilija Jokubaitis's research seminar highlights video

Dr Vilija Jokubaitis is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School at Monash University. She is a clinical and translational neuroscientist with a particular interest in pregnancy and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She published research in September on MS and pregnancy, then gave a seminar, in which she explored how pregnancy affects the progression of MS.The Zoom recording of the seminar has been edited and posted to the CCSMonash Youtube channel.

World's first major study shows delayed MS onset due to pregnancy

Prof Helmut Butzkueven (left) & Dr Vilija Jokubaitis (right),

lead authors on the MS and pregnancy study. Vilija is presenting

on the research Monday 22 Sept 12:30 PM. See more & Zoom link

• First major study to look at delayed MS onset due to pregnancy
• The comprehensive study confirms that pregnancy can slow MS onset
• Study uses an Australian led global data base of more than 70,000 people with MS
• Findings suggest that delayed and reduced rates of pregnancy globally likely associate with increased incidence of MS amongst women of childbearing age

A comprehensive international study, led by Monash researchers, has definitively found that pregnancy can delay the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) by more than 3 years.

New genetic changes are not implicated in antiepileptic medication-induced birth defects

Associate Professor Piero Perucca

is lead author on the study.

New research led by Associate Professor Piero Perucca from Monash University's Department of Neuroscience has found that there is no added risk of a child developing “de novo” variants — a genetic change seen for the first time in a family member — as a result of their mother taking common anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).

This study is the first to investigate whether AEDs taken during pregnancy can increase de novo variants in a baby’s genes, which was previously thought to be related to birth defects associated with the drugs. 

Study investigates MS medication use in pregnant women

Women with active MS are increasingly opting to try to get
pregnant, rather than waiting for remission

by Loretta Piccenna 

The number of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has steadily increased over the past 50 years with women three times more likely to develop MS than men, resulting in a greater number of women of childbearing age presenting to neurologists in specialist clinics.

However, very limited information is available about the safety and use of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in these women during pregnancy. No clinical guidelines currently exist to assist health professionals in providing informed advice to women about their treatment.