May 30, 2014 News by Charles Moore Is Vitamin D Supplementation Effective For Fighting Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, and Parkinson’s? Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin chiropractor, naturopath and health blogger Dr. J.G. Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP notes that while its been known since 1922 that Vitamin D is vital for bone health, recent research reveals its importance in many other body functions, and suggests that the “sunshine” Vitamin is, for example,…
May 30, 2014 News by BioNews Staff MS Views & News Awards Questcor With “Recognition of Appreciation” Award Multiple Sclerosis Advocacy Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a drug development company with a viable Multiple Sclerosis drug called H.P. ActharĀ® Gel, which is currently approved in the U.S. by the FDA for the treatment of acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis in adults. However, in addition to developing and commercializing MS therapies, the…
May 29, 2014 News by admin Novartis And Tictrac Raise Awareness For MS With Health Tracking Challenge Pharmaceutical company Novartis and health tracking and analytics platform TictracĀ recently partnered up to supportĀ World Multiple Sclerosis Day and raise awareness for this disease by launching the campaign The 7-Day Challenge to Live Like You. The challenge, one of the first integrations of emerging technological trends by a pharmaceutical…
May 28, 2014 News by Charles Moore Study Finds MS Drug Gilenya May Point To Development Of New PTSD Therapy A new study on mice published in Nature Neuroscience finds that fingolimod (Novartis brand name Gilenya) a first-in-class sphingosine-1-phosphate-receptor modulator currently used in treating persons with severe relapsing remitting MS, may also have therapeutic value in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Nature Neuroscience study is titled…
May 27, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Acorda Therapeutics’ Online Multiple Sclerosis Resources To Be Demonstrated in Dallas At the 2014 Cooperative Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis on May 28-31 in Dallas, Acorda Therapeutics will be demonstrating its award-winning MS selfā¢ mobile app designed for patients with multiple sclerosis.
May 27, 2014 News by admin Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use Adopts Positive Opinion For Plegridy As a Treatment for MS In The European Union TheĀ CommitteeĀ for Medicinal Products for Human UseĀ (CHMP) of the European Medicines AgencyĀ recently offered a positive opinion for the marketing authorization of Biogen Idec’s Plegridy therapy, a pegylated interferon administered subcutaneously for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The positive opinion will now be sent to the European Commission, which grants…
May 26, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Drug NerventraĀ® (Laquinimod) Disapproved in EU; Drug Developers Will Continue Research Two pharmaceutical companies,Ā Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) and Active Biotech, have just confirmed reports that theĀ Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is not recommendingĀ NERVENTRA (laquinimod) for use in treatingĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) within the European Union (EU), according to a recent press release. Despite CHMP’s disapproval of TEVA…
May 26, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Newly Acquired Patents For Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s DNA Therapies Spurs New Clinical Trials At Inovio Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company working on treatments that modulate therapeutically important immune responses with the help of T-cells, recently acquired the worldwide rights (apart from China), to conduct pre-clinical studies to produce products for possible therapies to treat and manage Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
May 23, 2014 by Charles Moore MRI Spectroscopy May Improve Accuracy in Predicting MS Progression A new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology says that predicting disease evolution is becoming essential for optimizing treatment decision-making in multiple sclerosis (MS), in which pathologic damage typically includes demyelination, neuro-axonal loss, and astrogliosis. The study, entitled “Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy…
May 22, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Orphan Drug Designation Granted to Treatment for Rare Multiple Sclerosis Drug Complication The Food and Drug Administration granted Orphan Drug Designation to Inhibikase Therapeutics’, Inc.Ā lead product, IkT-001Pro (imatinib), to treat progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PML affects the white matter of the brain usually through a virus known as Polyomavirus JC (JC…
May 22, 2014 by Charles Moore Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: MS Breakthrough Treatment Or Another “Liberation Therapy” Disappointment Shaping Up? Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a devastating disease for many who become afflicted with the disease’s progressive form, often in the prime of their lives, with no cure and when the effectiveness of established MS treatment is so often disappointing. Discouragement can lead to pinning premature hope on unproven therapies…
May 20, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Combination Therapy For Multiple Sclerosis Offers Promising Results In Recent Study Positive study results from a preliminary phase II clinical trialĀ for a new potential therapeutic intervention for the treatment of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were recentlyĀ released at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia by Dr.Ā Rhonda Voskuhl, M.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles.
May 20, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Explore Role of NAD In Cognitive Decline of Multiple Sclerosis Patients A group of researchers led byĀ Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, and Liana Roberts Stein, PhD,Ā fromĀ Washington University School of MedicineĀ in St. Louis have been working on pathways to trace cognitive decline in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It has been noted in previous research that brain cells derive energy for maintaining…
May 19, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Clinical Professor Holds Lecture On Using Paleo Diet To Control MS According to a recent article by Beth Roessner at the Desert Sun,Ā some Multiple Sclerosis patients are beginning to utilize healthier diets and eating habits to complement conventional treatments for their disease — an approach that even some researchers are beginning to study. Erin Davis, a 40 year-old woman,…
May 16, 2014 by Charles Moore Researchers Report Encouraging Results in Mouse Model MS Stem Cell Therapy Research Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the University of California (UC), Irvine and The University of Utah report that mice crippled by an autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) regained the ability to walk and run after a team of researchers implanted human stem cells…
May 16, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD New Secondary Progressive MS Drug Trial Completes Enrollment Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a drug delivery company based in The Woodlands, Texas, has been making significant progress in researching and developing TcelnaĀ®,Ā aĀ breakthrough T-cell immunotherapyĀ for multiple sclerosis (MS). The company recently announced they have reached their enrollment mark for conducting a Phase IIb clinical trial to testĀ Tcelna as a viable…
May 15, 2014 by Maureen Newman Multiple Sclerosis Disability Linked to Lipid Levels in Australian Study Patients with multiple sclerosis may benefit from improving blood fats, otherwise known as serum lipids, according to a new study from University of Tasmania in Australia published in Multiple Sclerosis…
May 14, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Risk of Neurodegenerative Diseases Such As Multiple Sclerosis Affected By Gene Expression, Immune System Response The diagnosis of a disease normally depends on the risk factors one is exposed to during his or her lifetime, and subsequently therapeutic measures are taken in order to treat the same with hopes of a better prognosis and a healthy lifestyle. However, scientists at theĀ Brigham and Women’s Hospital…
May 13, 2014 by Maureen Newman Brain Receptor More Common to Women May Explain Sex Disparity in Multiple Sclerosis For years, clinicians and patients could only notice and accept the fact that four times more women than men are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now, a group of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are uncovering a potential reason for the disparity, and they recently…
May 11, 2014 by Patricia Silva, PhD Low Fat Diets Benefit Multiple Sclerosis Patients, According To New Study A small scale study undertaken by researchers at the Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) showed the benefits of maintaining a low-fat diet in improving fatigue related to multiple sclerosis (MS). The study was led by Dr. Vijayshree Yadav, M.D., an associate professor of neurology in…
May 9, 2014 by Maureen Newman Sun Pharma-Sponsored Phase 3 Trial to Treat Spasticity Due to Multiple Sclerosis in Recruiting Patients One of the most common and troublesome symptoms of multiple sclerosis is spasticity. Patients with spasticity experience involuntary muscle spasms and muscle stiffness, which interfere with daily activities. An imbalance in the signals from the brain and spinal cord in the central nervous system increase the excitability of muscles,…
May 7, 2014 News by Charles Moore Genzyme Enters Multi-Year MS Research Collaboration with Cleveland Clinic’s Academic Medical Center Cambridge, Massachusetts based biotech firm GenzymeĀ has formed a new research collaboration with Cleveland Clinic of Cleveland, Ohio with a focus on developing new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). More than 2.3 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with MS, including what is believed…
May 7, 2014 News by Charles Moore MS, Other Autoimmune Diseases, May Be Vulnerable To New Drug Strategy Identified In UCSF/Harvard Genome Study New classes of pharmaceutical agents tailored to fight autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, may be identified more effectively by adding genome analysis to standard drug screening, according to results of a new study by a collaborative research team led by UC San Francisco and…
May 6, 2014 by admin Combined Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Using Copaxone Relieves RRMS Symptoms In Study Although the biological activity by which Copaxone (glatiramer) exerts its effects iĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is not fully understood, it is believed it can block the induction of autoimmune encephalomyelitis as observed in recent experiments with mice.Ā Research in animals and in vitro systems suggest that glatiramer acetate-specific suppressor…
May 5, 2014 by Maureen Newman Targeting B-cell Activity May Reduce MS Brain Lesions, According To GlaxoSmithKline-Backed Study New research work from GlaxoSmithKline presented by Daren Ausin, PhD, at the American Academy of Neurology’s 66th Annual Meeting has implications for individuals with relapsinig-remitting multiple sclerosis. The presentation detailed a study that used GlaxoSmithKline’s ofatumumab in 231 patients with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis. Ofatumumab is an anti-B-cell antibody, and it…
May 2, 2014 by BioNews Staff New Multiple Sclerosis Drug Target of U.S. and Japanese Researchers The National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,Ā based in Japan, announced that they willĀ initiateĀ a 3-month clinical trial on 9 patients withĀ multiple sclerosis,Ā beginning inĀ March. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease caused by mutations of lymphocyte immune cells, which attack and destroy a patient’s own nerve cells. Patients with multiple sclerosis typically…
May 2, 2014 News by BioNews Staff Benefits of Cognitive Reserve in Multiple Sclerosis May Also Benefit TBI Patients Researchers from theĀ Kessler FoundationĀ have found that higher educational achievement reduces the negative impact ofĀ traumatic brain injuryĀ (TBI) on cognitive status. The study appeared inĀ Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. It was reported in the study that cognitiveĀ ability after experiencing TBI differs in individuals even when their injury levelsĀ were comparable. As…
May 1, 2014 News by Charles Moore Debate Over Medical Marijuana For MS And Other Diseases Heats Up Steve Pepple / Shutterstock.com The 2012 state ballot approvals of marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington has been a catalyst for stirring the pot, so to speak, on a wide range of issues and nuances related to the herb — not least marijuana’s clinical use as a…