TORONTO — A group of Canadian researchers has received funding to try to figure out what role inflammation plays in progressive multiple sclerosis.

New research, led by Dr. Peter Stys from the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute, is going to look at damage that occurs in MS prior to inflammation.

The work, being done in collaboration with scientists at several other institutions, is being funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation.

The society and foundation have awarded a $3.8-million grant to the researchers looking at this issue.

To date science has attributed the damage done in the disease to autoimmune attacks, but this research team wants to see whether the inflammation process is triggered by an underlying degenerative process.

About 10 per cent of people with MS are diagnosed with the primary progressive form of the disease.

Secondary progressive MS is more common; it begins as relapsing remitting MS, but within 10 years half of the people diagnosed with relapsing MS go on to develop secondary progressive.

There are seven licensed disease modifying treatments for relapsing MS in Canada, but little progress has been made in managing primary progressive MS or secondary progressive MS without relapses.

"We urgently need research that tackles the challenges unique to the progressive forms of MS," says Karen Lee, vice-president of research, MS Society of Canada.