endMS National Training Program
Here are the summaries of the 2025-2026 SPRINT team projects:
Effects of Lifestyle Choices on Shaping Immune Function in Multiple Sclerosis.
SPRINTers: Landon Scholly, Thomas Worthington, Lauren Strasser
SPRINT mentor: Dr. Deepak K. Kaushik
SPRINT Community Partner: Karen Tweed
Lay summary: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease where the immune system mistakenly damages the protective layer surrounding nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. Although MS affects millions of people worldwide, we still do not fully understand what causes the disease or why it worsens over time. Healthy lifestyle choices, such as a balanced diet and regular exercise, are commonly recommended for people living with MS, but it remains unclear which approaches provide the greatest benefit. Recent research suggests that a process called ‘immunometabolism’, which describes how immune cells produce and use energy, plays an important role in controlling inflammation and disease progression. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to harm or damage, but poor lifestyle factors can disrupt this system, causing ongoing inflammation leading to stress and damage over time. This review highlights how different forms of exercise may help reduce harmful inflammation by improving the way immune cells produce and use energy, including: •Aerobic/endurance exercise •High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and High-intensity continuous training (HICT) •Strength/resistance training The effect of dietary components such as fibre, fats, proteins, salt, vitamin D on immune cells was related to existing dietary programs, including: •Mediterranean diet •Ketogenic diet •Wahls diet The effects of additional lifestyle-related factors, such as vitamin D supplementation, obesity, and stress are also summarized in this review. By bringing together findings from laboratory and clinical research, this review aims to improve our understanding of how diet and exercise influence the ‘immunometabolism’ of the immune system and to help guide future lifestyle recommendations for people living with MS.
What Else Accompanies MOGAD? A Review of Co-Occurring Health Conditions
SPRINTers: Gabriela Blaszcyk, Doriana Taccardi, Mahir Rahman
SPRINT mentor: Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie
SPRINT Community Partner: Denise Kresic
Lay Summary: Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease (MOGAD) is a rare disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. In some people, this can cause pain, headaches, and long-term vision problems. Many people living with MOGAD also experience other health problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. When someone with MOGAD also has another health condition, we call it a comorbidity. Since MOGAD is a newly recognized diagnosis, our project aimed to find out what research has looked at comorbidities in MOGAD. This would help scientists understand what research has been done so far. In turn, this will help us identify what work to do next. We searched large online libraries for papers that mention MOGAD and any other disease occurring at the same time. We followed a set of rules to help us choose the papers that were relevant. After narrowing down to 127 papers, we carefully reviewed each one. We collected information such as the type of study, age, sex, ethnicity, and comorbidities reported with MOGAD. Most papers talked about one person with MOGAD and the comorbidities they had. Some papers also looked at medical records of groups of people with MOGAD. We found that other conditions where the immune system attacks the body often co-exist with MOGAD. Hormone-related disorders were also common. Understanding how often these other health conditions show up with MOGAD can help improve patient care and better predict how patients will do. We also found knowledge gaps: for example, many papers did not include the ethnicities of people with MOGAD and it seemed difficult to determine how often comorbidities affect people with MOGAD from the included studies. More research and better record-keeping are needed to make stronger conclusions on MOGAD and co-occurring conditions.
How people with multiple sclerosis, care partners, and healthcare providers experience cognitive symptoms in healthcare encounters: A systematic review and meta-aggregation of qualitative research findings.
SPRINTers: Hannah Bernstein, Molly Pitkethly, Jennifer Zagrodnik
SPRINT Mentor: Dr. Robert Simpson
SPRINT Community Partner: Barb Van Walleghem
Lay title: Changes in thinking and memory associated with multiple sclerosis affect people’s healthcare experiences. Lay Summary: Changes in thinking and memory associated with multiple sclerosis affect people’s healthcare experiences. More than half of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) have trouble with thinking and memory. This can look like forgetting about appointments. Or it can present as having trouble focusing when there are distractions like noises. Because of this, we studied how changes in thinking and memory affect PwMS’ healthcare visits like when they see a doctor or nurse. To do this, we looked at studies on how thinking and memory affect healthcare experiences. The focus being on studies that looked at the experiences of PwMS, carers, and medical staff. We used past studies to compare results and identify common experiences. A total of 4000 studies were reviewed but only 19 qualified for analysis. These 19 studies asked open-ended questions about people’s experiences and opinions. Direct quotes from PwMS, carers and medical staff were used to understand all views. We combined the findings from the 19 papers and grouped them into three conclusions. (1) PwMS and health staff need better training and tools for thinking or memory challenges. (2) Medical staff should regularly ask about thinking and memory concerns during appointments. (3) Medical staff should make changes for PwMS who have trouble with thinking and memory. For example, reducing distractions in clinic visits and providing reminders about appointments. We found that PwMS who have trouble with thinking and memory have changing needs that are not always met. These findings were used to create 9 practical tips to help address this issue. The tips included making educational materials for PwMS and healthcare providers. They also included training healthcare providers about testing for thinking and memory challenges. These tips were created to improve healthcare training and policy to better MS care.