The Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation has provided an injection of cash that will be used for Multiple Sclerosis research. The Foundation is giving $750,000 to the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine to support the Saskatchewan Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Clinical Research Chair for the next three years.

Chairholder, Dr. Michael C. Levin (MD), along with his team of researchers have been working to develop medications that can inhibit the nerve cell damage that occurs due to diseases such as MS.

Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with an estimated 3,700 people in the province living with the disease and there is no known cure.

The research chair was established in 2017 and in that time, researchers discovered that a protein in nerve cells, named A1, is abnormal in the brains of MS patients and it gets stuck in the wrong part of nerve cells and triggers the cells’ death.

A news release from the University of Saskatchewan says Dr. Levin’s team has discovered a drug treatment that prevents nerve cell death, as well, it promotes nerve cell regeneration.

MS is a disorder of the central nervous system affecting the ability of the brain and spinal cord to communicate. This results in muscle weakness, a lack of muscle control, problems with vision and other neurological symptoms.