Ming Lim

Dr Ming Lim MRCP PhD
Consultant Paediatric Neurologist
Evelina Children's Hospital
Children's Neurosciences Centre, Newcomen Centre at St Thomas', Staircase D South Wing,
St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH

Dr. Ming Lim

Ming Lim undertook his undergraduate medical training at the University of Nottingham, UK. Following completing his paediatric neurology training in South London, and a period of doctoral research in the neuroscience department of the Institute of Psychiatry (London), he was appointed as Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, London. He has a major interest in childhood inflammatory disorders and runs the regional paediatric brain and spine inflammation service. He works collaboratively with the Oxford Clinical Neurosciences Group (Professor Angela Vincent) on numerous studies to define childhood central nervous system autoimmune disorders. In addition, he also has a research interest in the inflammatory mechanisms in childhood onset neurodegenerative disorders, pursued via the Faculty of Translational Medicine and BRC of King Health Partners, London.

Talk: Overview of CNS inflammation: mechanisms and interventions

Immune responses in the central nervous system (CNS) are common, despite it being perceived as an immune privileged site. The orchestration of this process involves the complex interaction between the innate and adaptive immune system, both centrally and systemically, to achieve the physiological role of eliminating an environmental stressor such as infection or tissue damage, thus achieving an overall beneficial effect. Nevertheless there is now unequivocal evidence that neuroinflammation may also lead to neurodegeneration. Identifying and subsequently targeting pathogenic mechanisms of CNS inflammation has afforded the clinician with a growing repertoire of therapeutic strategies, although such treatments are often empirically employed as these processes cannot be reliably evaluated for each individual patient. This overview will highlight i) novel genetic and environmental determinants in brain inflammation; ii) the crucial role of the systemic immune system and inflammation in CNS inflammation and; iii) the increasing recognition of the secondary role of inflammation in a range of other “non-inflammatory” neurological conditions. Ultimately, the effective management of CNS inflammation is likely to require appropriately timed combination of therapies.