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<\/p>\nThe most important thing Margo Murchison, an Ottawa teacher with multiple sclerosis, taught her primary school students was that \u201cpeople who have disabilities have abilities too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students thought my scooter was the coolest,\u201d said Ms. Murchison, now retired after teaching for 20 years. \u201cOne girl even asked Santa for a scooter for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students weren\u2019t the only ones inspired by Ms. Murchison. Dr. Mark Freedman, her neurologist for more than 20 years, was also inspired by her incredible strength and optimism.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a very difficult disease, and when Margo was first diagnosed many years ago, there wasn\u2019t much we could do for people with MS,\u201d said Dr. Freedman, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at The Ottawa Hospital and a professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa. \u201cMargo and other patients like her made me realize that we need to develop better treatments, and research is the only way to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Margo Murchison is hopeful that, through research, people who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis today will have many more options than she has had.<\/em><\/p>\n Over the years, Ms. Murchison has participated in two clinical trials of experimental therapies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very exciting to be involved in a clinical trial,\u201d she said. \u201cOf course, it is an experiment, so you don\u2019t know if you will benefit, but at least there is hope that the results of research will help other people.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Freedman recently launched Canada\u2019s first clinical trial of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for MS, with funding from the MS Society of Canada, as well as support from The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.<\/p>\n Like other kinds of stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells can give rise to other more specialized types of cells, however their therapeutic potential for MS comes more from their ability to modify the immune system, reduce inflammation and release factors that help prevent and repair tissue damage.<\/p>\n \u201cI have great hope for this research, and for MS research in general,\u201d said Ms. Murchison. \u201cOver the last 30 years, I\u2019ve seen many new developments in MS treatment and I really do feel that we\u2019re getting close to a cure. I believe that people who are diagnosed with MS today will have many more options than I did.\u201d<\/p>\n