Preserving the Brain UCSF Workshop:
Monitoring Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis

Wednesday, September 28, 2022  |  UCSF Mission Bay
9:00-11:00am PDT (16:00-18:00 UTC)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common and debilitating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system affecting approximately 3 million people worldwide. In recent years, the number of people living with MS also appears to have increased. MS has two major forms. Relapsing MS patients experience recurrent attacks of neurological symptoms, whereas Progressive MS patients experience continuous worsening. Progressive MS usually develops after a decade or more of relapsing disease (Secondary Progressive MS), or less commonly, MS is progressive from onset (Primary Progressive MS).
 
The development of highly effective therapeutics for Relapsing MS, and partially effective ones for Progressive MS, has produced dramatic benefits for patients and has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of MS pathogenesis. These gains have also revealed that an underlying neurodegenerative process causing insidious progression is present in most patients throughout the disease course.  A better understanding and monitoring of neurodegeneration in MS is likely to unlock the next big therapeutic advance.

The UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, in connection with the Preserving the Brain Scientific Forum organized by Fondazione Prada, is pleased to host Monitoring Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis. This workshop will feature a series of brief presentations highlighting recent advances in monitoring MS disease progression and exploring how new tools may contribute to improved clinical outcomes. The session will conclude with a moderated roundtable discussion to consider current challenges and opportunities for continued progress in treating patients with MS.

Event Registration

Registration is required. In-person and virtual attendance available. In-person attendance is only available to members of the UCSF community and subject to change in accordance with UCSF COVID-19 policies.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Schedule of Events

Welcome and Introduction
Stephen Hauser, MD

Visualizing Neurodegeneration in Real-Time: A BRIDGE to the Clinic
Riley Bove, MD

Stepping Into the Future: Remote Monitoring as a Signal for MS Progression
Valerie Block, PT, DPTSc

Spinal Cord Atrophy Precedes and Predicts Progressive MS and Silent Disability Worsening
Roland Henry, PhD

Antibody Targets in Multiple Sclerosis
Michael Wilson, MD, MAS

Linking Microbes and Diet to Neurodegeneration and Clinical Outcomes: Massive Data Integration With a Knowledge Graph
Sergio Baranzini, PhD

Moderated Roundtable
All Speakers

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Additional Workshops

“Preserving the Brain” aims to explore the complexity of scientific research by retracing the stages from identifying therapeutic targets to the different phases in the validation of new therapies to the availability of a drug for the patient. Throughout the three weeks of the exhibition, institutions participating in the project will give a series of online workshops that will be available to the public via streaming on this website. Each meeting will enable the assessment of a specific aspect in the search for new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Click the link below to access the full schedule of workshops, and past event recordings:
https://humanbrains.fondazioneprada.org/en/preserving-the-brains/workshops/