March 31, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Research Australia Funds Project on MS and Epstein-Barr Virus MS Research Australia has awardedĀ aĀ $150,000 grant to support a project being conducted atĀ Murdoch UniversityĀ aimed atĀ expanding scientific knowledge on the correlation between multiple sclerosis (MS) andĀ Epstein-Barr virus infection. The research grant was awarded to David Nolan, anĀ adjunct associate professor at the Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases (IIID),…
March 31, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Clinical Study On Attention and Memory In People With MS A major trial to investigate different ways to deal with attention and memory problems in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients will take place atĀ Nottingham in the United Kingdom.Ā The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis (CRAMMS)Ā study will focusĀ on these MS related symptoms…
March 30, 2015 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD New Purification Method Promises Affordable Antibody Production For Diseases Like MS The Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) developed a new purification method for pharmaceutical produced antibodies that promises to effectively decrease the high prices of these drugs in the market. Therapeutic antibodies revolutionized how doctorsĀ treat diseases affecting a large number of individuals, such as cancer and autoimmune…
March 27, 2015 News by Maureen Newman New Imaging Technique Reveals MS Progression Related to Diffusivity in Brain Scientists are developing new tools to understand multiple sclerosis pathogenesis and monitor the benefits of treatments. One of these tools is diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a novel techniqueĀ that describes the microstructural organization of white matter tracts in the brain. Although DTI has greater pathological specificity than magnetic resonance imaging…
March 26, 2015 News by admin MS Treatment Using Stem Cells Shows Promise Compared to Medication New researchĀ from Italy and SpainĀ demonstrated that intense immunosuppression followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) was better thanĀ the medicationĀ mitoxantrone in treating severe cases of multiple sclerosis.Ā The studyĀ appearedĀ in the February 11, 2015, online issue of Neurology. Ā MS is characterized by an immune system attack on the…
March 26, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Online Neurology Resource Platform Launches Recent MS Research Findings The online community for neurologists Neurology TimesĀ will feature special coverage focused on multiple sclerosis (MS) in celebration ofĀ MS Awareness Month, which is currently taking place in March. The online platform was designed to provide healthcare professionals with informational resources about several hard…
March 25, 2015 by Maureen Newman Low Dose Naltrexone Review for MS Reveals High Safety Profile, Mixed Results on Benefits in Multiple Studies One of the most widely disputed treatments for multiple sclerosis is low dose naltrexone (LDN). While a plethora of patient testimonies and anecdotal evidence suggest immense benefits of LDN for multiple sclerosis, many clinicians are wary due to the lack of FDA approval outside of treating heroin and alcohol addiction.
March 24, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Develop First Accurate Method to Assess Important Protein in MS, Other Diseases Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Rigshospitalet in Denmark have for the first time developed an accurate method to measure apolipoprotein M (apoM), a protein thatĀ is involved in several diseases like diabetes but also arteriosclerosis and sclerosis, disorders characterized by the stiffening of structures usually by…
March 23, 2015 News by admin MS Progression May Be Stopped By New Anti-inflammatory Molecule Researchers at theĀ Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the oldest research center in Australia, developed a molecule that may quellĀ inflammation and stop the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). The molecule couldĀ eventually be used as a drug for the disease. MSĀ is an inflammatory autoimmune diseaseĀ in which the body attacks…
March 20, 2015 News by Kara Elam New MS Educational Program Seeks to Improve Care in Women This week the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) in collaboration with The France Foundation, a provider of continuing medical education have launched a new educational program focused on the important issues that affect women with multiple sclerosis (MS), entitled, āStrategies to Improve the…
March 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Eye Care Center Commemorates 10-Year Anniversary TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis Eye Center for Analysis, Research and Education (MS Eye CARE) is celebrating 10 years of expertĀ eye care in improvingĀ diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The Center isĀ the result of aĀ collaboration betweenĀ theĀ University Eye Institute at the University of Houstonās College of Optometry and the…
March 18, 2015 News by admin MS Patients Weigh In on Physician Conflicts of Interest in New Study Multiple sclerosis (MS) is difficult enough for those who have it, causing damage to the nervous system, difficulty with movement, sensation, numbness, loss of vision and pain. People with MS rely on medications and the care of physicians to manage their symptoms and the progressions of the disease. But…
March 17, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Hypertension Medication Found to Offer Protective Effect Against Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms in Mice A new study recently published in the journal Nature CommunicationsĀ led by researchers at The University of ChicagoĀ revealed that a drug for hypertension has a protective effect against symptoms characteristic of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mouse models. The study is entitled āPharmaceutical integrated…
March 16, 2015 News by admin Can Emotional Health Influence MS Treatment Outcomes? Emotional health is important when battling any illness, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Despite this, sometimes the benefits of emotional health are overlooked by healthcare providers. Excessive stress can lead to anxiety and depression, which increases hormones such as adrenalin and glucocorticoids that shut down the immune system. Glucocorticoids have…
March 13, 2015 News by admin Two Progressive MS Phase III Trials to be Presented at AAN Annual Meeting Myelin — the fatty substance that wraps around nerve cells — is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). Is there any way to get it back or to stop the deterioration of myelin? Researchers at MedDay Pharmaceuticals think that their drug may provide the solution. Known asĀ MD1003, the…
March 12, 2015 News by admin Novel Switch for Autoimmune Diseases Could Play Role In MS National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists may have discovered a critical immune system switch that could affect genes involved in autoimmune diseases.Ā The ground-breaking work, published in the journalĀ Nature,Ā may be useful for developing treatments forĀ autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is characterized by an immune system…
March 11, 2015 News by Charles Moore SPMS Drug Developer Opexa Therapeutics To Receive $3M Payment from Merck Serono Under Amended Agreement Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Woodlands, Texas, has announced the successful conclusion of negotiations amending its option and license agreement with Darmstadt, Germany based pharma multinational Merck’s “Merck Serono” division. Under terms of the revised agreement, Opexa will receive a $3 million payment to…
March 10, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Identify a New Genetic Risk Factor for Multiple Sclerosis Development A team led by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) recently revealed in the journal ASN NEUROĀ a new genetic variation that significantly increases the risk ofĀ developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in women. The study is entitled āA Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in…
March 6, 2015 News by admin Multiple Sclerosis Damage May be Prevented by Novel Molecules Researchers atĀ the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified new compounds that could protect from multiple sclerosis related damage, based on studies in mice with nervous system damage, mimicking MS. The study appearedĀ in the journal Nature Neuroscience. MS is an autoimmune…
March 5, 2015 News by admin Myelin Damage Caused by MS Could be Slowed, Prevented by Protein Image credit:Ā Yaming Wang/Bernd Zinselmeyer A new study has shownĀ that a protein calledĀ TREM2 may inhibit microglial repair of damaged myelin in multiple sclerosis. The study appeared in theĀ Jan. 29 issue ofĀ Acta Neuropathologica. MS is characterized by the degeneration of myelin, a fatty…
March 4, 2015 News by admin Multiple Sclerosis Could be Treated with a Surprising Medication An already approved medication used for bladder problems might help to treat multiple sclerosis, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lead author Fraser J. Sim, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the University at Buffalo…
March 4, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Women with Multiple Sclerosis May Have Lower Levels of Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants And Nutrients Compared to healthy people, women with multiple sclerosis (MS) may have inferior levels of certain antioxidants and nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties, including vitamin E and folate, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). A research team led by Dr. Sandra…
March 3, 2015 News by Charles Moore Caffeine In Coffee Found To Reduce Multiple Sclerosis Risk Coffee Drinking may confer the side-benefit of lowering the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in susceptible individuals, according to a meta-analysis of Swedish and American studies to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting to be held April 18-25, 2015 at the…
March 3, 2015 News by admin New White Paper Educates MS, Other Autoimmune Disease Patients on Biosimilars Do you know what biosimilar medicines do, and why they are important? If you do, then you might be in limited company. The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), a national nonprofit health organization focusing on awareness of autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, has published a white paper…
March 2, 2015 News by admin Multiple Sclerosis Treatments Benefit From Discovery of New Inflammatory Molecule A newly discovered molecule could play a pivotal role in inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis, according to researchers at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Queensland Australia. The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine,Ā and describes aĀ molecule known as MCC950 that can suppress the ‘NLRP3 inflammasome’,…