White Matter Rounds Network News 

Calling all Open Science collaborators!

Are you leading an Open Science initiative advancing the field of neuroscience? Don’t miss this opportunity to be recognized for your contributions.

Submit your application for the Neuro-Irv and Helga Cooper Foundation Open Science Prizes. 

Deadline is August 15, 2025.

Visit this link to check all the information and apply.

A new collaborative paper shows that diagnosing genetic white matter diseases that mimic MS is challenging.  Leuko-vasculopathies in particular, like CADASIL, pose diagnostic difficulties due to similar clinical and imaging features, including remitting course and contrast enhancement. Other disorders frequently misdiagnosed as MS were adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP, also known as CSF1R-related disorders) and adult-onset Alexander disease.

The study was led by Dr Yann Nadjar and included Dr Roberta La Piana, Dr. Natalia Shor and Dr. Gabrielle Macaron, all members of the WM Rounds Network. 

Our 1st Pediatric WM Rounds took place on April 8th 2025 and was a success. These pediatric-focused rounds align with our mission of turning our WM Rounds into discussions and work on white matter disorders across lifespan. 

Next pediatric WM Rounds will be held in September. Please contact us or send an email to roberta.lapiana(at)mcgill.ca if you want more information. 

Please join the next MS Xchange Network Conference Series on December 05, at 5pm (EST) for a talk by Dr. Veronique Miron. 

Dr. Miron will present on Microglia as key regulators of de- and remyelination in MS.

Roberta La Piana has recently presented about the White Matter Rounds' Experience at the 2024 American Neurological Association Meeting in Orlando, FL. The talk was part of the Special session "Neuroinflammation and Neuroinfection: Genetic Underpinnings to Neuroinflammatory and Neuroinfectious Diseases" together with presentations by Dr. Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy (UPenn) and Dr. Farinaz Safavi (NINDS), also members of the WM Rounds.