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We are delighted to announce that the Anne Rowling Clinic’s landmark FutureMS study will begin its 10-year recruitment round in spring 2026, marking a major milestone in long-term research into relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).
The FutureMS project is a long-term study that is tracking the MS journeys of 440 people from all over Scotland who first joined the study when they were diagnosed between 2016 and 2019.
Removing the uncertainty
The study aims to remove the uncertainty that a diagnosis of MS can bring. We want to develop tools that will allow individualised prediction of disease activity:
- to understand why parts of Scotland are the world capital of MS
- to examine the physical and mental impacts that MS will have on each person
- to be able to offer the right drug treatment at the right time for that individual
After listening to people with MS, we are studying the so-called ‘invisible symptoms’ such as fatigue and ‘brain fog’, as well as using cutting edge brain and eye imaging as a live window on MS activity.
10-year assessment
Beginning in Spring 2026, and extending until 2029, FutureMS participants will be invited back for an assessment 10 years after their diagnosis. As before, these assessments will take place in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness. The 10-year assessment will include questionnaires, blood tests, tests of memory/thinking, plus brain and eye imaging.
FutureMS has already generated a huge breadth and depth of powerful research data, with over 100 researchers involved in the study. By testing the same participants over time, the power of this data will grow and grow. We can learn so much more about MS than if we ‘took a snapshot’ at a single timepoint.
To find out more watch this short video message from the FutureMS team.
(video opens University of Edinburgh's Media Hopper - duration 2.1 mins)
Are you a FutureMS participant?
THANK YOU!
The FutureMS research team is incredibly grateful to everyone who has, and continues to take part in the FutureMS study. Each participant in the FutureMS project is irreplaceable, and we are looking forward to continuing the FutureMS journey for many years to come.
If your contact details have changed, please let us know by emailing the FutureMS research team.
Funding
FutureMS is funded by the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic and the Scottish Government.