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Principal Investigator/s: Professor Imre Lengyel

Name of the Study: BEAMS

Why is this Study important? 

People with MS often have subtle vision difficulties that may reflect changes in the retina. Retinal imaging is quick, non?invasive, and already used in clinics, and this study will test both routine eye?clinic devices and new, high?resolution imaging technologies to see how well people with MS tolerate them and how useful they are. If effective, these tools could offer a fast, comfortable, and affordable way to monitor MS and support future treatment development.

What is the Research question/aim?:

Early BEAMS study results showed that the outer retinal layer is affected in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) - a finding that was previously unknown and represents a meaningful shift in how we understand the disease (PMID: 37214765). This suggests that the outer retina may serve as a new biomarker for tracking MS progression.

To explore this further, we plan to invite the original participants back for a follow?up visit six years after their first assessment. We will also recruit new participants to strengthen the study and improve statistical power. This will help us confirm whether changes in the outer retina progress over time and whether retinal imaging can reliably monitor MS.

What the Study involves:

We are inviting both previous BEAMS participants and new volunteers to take part in a single study visit of about three hours. During the visit, you will complete a set of non?invasive vision tests and high?resolution eye imaging, following the same protocol used at the baseline study.

These tests were already shown to be safe, comfortable, and feasible in the original study. By repeating them six years later - and adding new participants to strengthen the data - we aim to confirm our earlier findings and see whether changes in the outer retina can help monitor MS over time.

Who can take part in the Study?

The study is open to people living with relapsing?remitting MS, as well as healthy volunteers who do not have MS or other inflammatory conditions. Because the research focuses specifically on MS?related retinal changes, we are unable to include individuals with certain eye conditions - such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or age?related macular degeneration - as these can affect the eye in different ways and make it harder to interpret the results accurately.

Contact information:

Dr Lajos Csincsik | Research fellow

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l.csincsik@qub.ac.uk

07450516708