Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects 130,000 people in the UK, with 130 more people diagnosed each week. Over time, MS gradually worsens, and treatments for this phase of disease are extremely limited. There are no ways to detect early stages of progression, making it difficult to develop treatments.

This study will apply a new scanning technology, OPM-MEG, to detect progression in MS. People with progressive MS, stable MS and healthy controls will be recruited. They will receive three OPM-MEG scans: an initial baseline scan, after six months and after one year. They will receive clinical assessments on their first and final visits. I will analyse how brain networks change over time using OPM-MEG markers. I will investigate if these markers worsen in those with progressive MS, and remain the same in those with stable MS.

I aim to distinguish who is silently progressing from who is stable, by using two OPM-MEG scans within a year. The long-term vision is that those who have progressive disease could then join clinical trials, and stable patients could avoid intensive treatment. The new marker will be objective, providing greater certainty for patients and neurologists. If we link decline in brain networks to progression, this will change how we think about disability in MS. This may alter how we perform clinical trials in the future. Currently there are no tools to detect early progression in MS, so this research is desperately needed.