Hundreds pack Prince’s Island Park for annual Walk for MS

Calgarians did their part to support MS research by lacing up their sneakers for the 25th annual Jayman Built Walk for MS Sunday.

Every year, more than 40,000 Canadians in more than 160 communities across the country, gather for similar walks.

Multiple Sclerosis can cause symptoms such as extreme fatigue, lack of coordination, weakness, tingling, impaired sensation, vision problems and mood changes.

According to the MS Society of Canada, most people who have MS can expect a near normal lifespan, thanks to improvements in symptom management and MS modifying therapies.

“Everyone is different. There have been people who have been on treatments and have felt better,” Charlotte Howe, with the MS Society of Canada, said. “I met someone recently who said once she started a new treatment, she finally felt better after years. She still has mobility issues and isn’t 100 per cent, but is feeling better from one of her treatments. It depends on the person, which is what makes it scary.”

The cause of MS remains a mystery, but a recent Canadian clinical trial has offered some hope.

An experimental study led by Ottawa researchers involved wiping out patients’ immune systems and regenerating them through a stem cell transplant.

“The results have been extremely positive. People are really encouraged for what this means for people with MS,” Darrel Gregory, the southern Alberta director of the MS Society of Canada, said. “This particular trial is for people who have a very specific type of MS, a very aggressive form of MS.”

READ MORE: Bone-marrow transplant offers hope for patients with aggressive MS: study

“We are hoping that, with the results of what we’ve learned from this stem cell trial, we will be able to use that for other trials that could involve other types of MS, not so aggressive perhaps. Not only relapsing remitting, but also possibly progressive, so there could be possibilities for other people to be involved in a similar trial,” Gregory said.

The fundraising goal for last year’s walk in Calgary was $570,000.  This year, the goal was $595,000 but, as of Sunday afternoon, the organization had only reached 62 per cent of the goal.

“We have been trying to stay hopeful and not lower our expectations, but it has been a tough year,” Howe said. “We keep hearing people say ‘We just can’t get the funds that we normally get’. Some of our highest fundraisers just aren’t reaching those numbers.”

Alberta has the highest rate of Multiple Sclerosis in the world but scientists don’t know why.

MS can occur at any age, but is usually diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40.