A KILMARNOCK woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) has shared her excitement over a breakthrough in research.

Researchers based in Edinburgh have developed a new method to repair myelin, the protective coating around nerves, which could halt the progression of the disease.

The study was funded by the MS Society and published in Nature Communications, and focused on the use of genetically engineered human oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs).

These cells, which naturally produce myelin, were genetically edited to ignore anti-repair signals.

When transplanted into mouse brains, they successfully repaired myelin.

Joanne Newall, from Kilmarnock, was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2021 and is group coordinator of the MS Society Ayrshire and Arran local group.

She said: "After attending the 'Living Well with MS Ayrshire and Arran’ event in August, I am amazed by the amount of research going on right here in Scotland.

"It's reassuring to know that research is making positive steps forward to stop disability progression in people with all types of MS.

"Also, knowing that there is now talk of hopefully moving onto the stage of human research gives me hope of a future without MS."

Multiple sclerosis is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord which cannot currently be cured, but treatment can often help manage it.

Some symptoms include vision problems, feeling extremely tired, numbness and muscle cramps.

Anna Williams, professor of regenerative neurology and study lead, said: "Many studies in the past have tried to transplant oligodendrocytes or similar cells into the brain to repair myelin.

"However, the hostile environment of MS lesions stops these transplanted cells from working.

"The difference in our study – which was six years in the making – is that we were able to genetically modify the transplanted cells so that they would ignore these negative signals and repair myelin."