September 13, 2016 News by admin Study Focuses on Caregivers and Their Often Ignored, But Key, Role in Treating MS A new study from France delves further into the life of multiple sclerosis (MS) caregivers and how they are perceived by MS patients, physicians, and the caregivers themselves. The report, “EVASEP: A Noninterventional Study Describing the Perception of Neurologists, Patients, and Caregivers on Caregivers’ Role in the Support…
September 12, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Myelin Repair, Shape Changers, Misdiagnoses, and Virtual Reality Here is my Pick of the Week’s News, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Breast Cancer Therapy, Tamoxifen, May Promote Myelin Repair in MS Remyelination could be a new role in MS therapy for a drug that has been used to treat breast cancer for some…
September 8, 2016 Columns by admin #ECTRIMS2016 – Stay Up to Date with My Pick of Congress Highlights The show comes to town in the next week with ECTRIMS hosting what it describes as “the world’s largest annual international conference” devoted to basic treatment and clinical research in multiple sclerosis. It is being held in London’s ExCel center from Wednesday to Saturday morning, and will be followed…
September 7, 2016 Columns by admin James Received HSCT for Free, as He Lives in the UK Virtually all the talk about availability of HSCT1 as an MS treatment includes the need to travel long distances to other countries, but U.K. residents can receive the treatment in London, avoiding the journey overseas. What’s more, it is provided through the country’s social National Health Service (NHS) so, like…
September 5, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Siponimod, Thymosin Patent, Orphan Drug, Lifestyle, and Lymphopenia Risk Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Gilenya-like Therapy Shows Benefit in Secondary Progressive MS Patients in Phase 3 Trial Here’s a potentially encouraging development for anyone with SPMS. Patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who were treated with BAF312 (siponimod),…
September 2, 2016 Columns by admin Taming Heat Sensitivity at 100 Degrees Many people voiced their concerns to me about anyone with MS moving to live in a sunny climate. That worry is understandable. With a disease that includes heat sensitivity, where even a hot shower can make you worse, how can any MS patient move to live in an area where…
August 31, 2016 Columns by admin Welcome or Not, FDA Focuses on Stem Cell Treatments News that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to hold a public hearing next month to consider greater oversight of stem cell clinics operating in the country is as welcome as it is late. I say “late” because, while the regulators have been twiddling their fingers,…
August 29, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Umbilical Cells, Early Drugs, REAL Research, Hemoglobin, and Fatigue Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Umbilical Cord Blood-derived Cell Therapy Promotes Remyelination in Mice Now this is different, using umbilical cord stem cells. A cell therapy product derived from human umbilical cord blood cells may be…
August 26, 2016 Columns by admin Help for Anyone Newly Diagnosed with MS Being diagnosed with MS can be more than a bit of a shock at first. Yes, you finally know what you’ve got, what all those symptoms you’ve having mean, and you have heard what your neurologist told you. Well, you may have heard, but you didn’t take it in…
August 24, 2016 Columns by admin My Life is My Own, MS Cannot Have It It is often said that real life mimics television, and one hit TV series certainly reflects the theme: “my life is my own, MS cannot have it.” During the 1960s, 1967–68 to be exact, an iconic television show ran on Sunday nights called “The Prisoner.” It starred Patrick McGoohan as…
August 24, 2016 News by admin RebiSmart Device Seen to Improve Adherence to Therapy in RRMS Patients People with relapsing multiple sclerosis who use a device called RebiSmart (Merck Serono) to self-inject medications like Rebif (interferon [IFN] beta-1a) are more likely to take their therapies on a regular schedule and adhere to that schedule, resulting in fewer relapses than those not using the device, according to a retrospective study by researchers…
August 22, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Blood Tests, Marijuana, Cameras, and More Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Blood Test Seen to Distinguish MS from Other Neurological Conditions A faster way to tell the difference between neurological diseases could mean earlier access to treatment for MS patients. Researchers at Michigan State…
August 19, 2016 Columns by admin Delays in Seeing Specialists a Growing Barrier to MS Diagnosis and Treatment There can be absolutely no excuse for anyone experiencing the first signs and symptoms of neurological conditions like MS having to wait a long time to see an appropriate specialist, such as a neurologist. Delays in seeing specialists is a complaint often heard from patients in various countries, and it…
August 17, 2016 Columns by admin New Pre-HSCT Treatment May Be the Future, but HSCT with Lower Dose Chemo is Right Choice for MS Patients Now News that scientists in the U.S. are working to find a new pre-HSCT treatment to carry out stem cell transplants without the need for chemotherapy, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today, leaves me with mixed feelings. While such a development could potentially be great news and an…
August 15, 2016 News by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Aggressive Therapies, Early MRIs, Tysabri and More Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Best First-Line Treatment for Aggressive MS May Be Equally Aggressive Immunotherapies Sounds like “Fight fire with fire” to me; could be just what is needed. Patients with aggressive onset multiple sclerosis, characterized…
August 10, 2016 News by admin 5 Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Options There are no specific therapies that can effectively cure patients with multiple sclerosis. However, there are a number of multiple sclerosis treatment options, particularly for the relapsing-remitting form of the disease. 1.Immunomodulation therapies which can control the inflammation of myelin sheaths and help restore the central nervous system.
August 8, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Antioxidant Therapies, Ocrevus, and Other Notables Here is my Pick of the Week’s News, from articles published on Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Antioxidant Therapies Seen as Promising Approach in Treating MS and Like Diseases Maybe antioxidant research could provide another avenue of MS therapy. A review article published in the British…
August 5, 2016 Columns by admin Wondering How MS Will Affect Me Today Waking up in the morning and facing the world brings a sense of wonder. Not in the sense of awe, just in wondering how MS will affect me today. Is it a good day or a bad day? What will it bring? Like most people,…
August 3, 2016 Columns by admin Stem Cell Clinics Under Critical Scrutiny in US Stem cell clinics are proliferating in the U.S., where there are now 570 in operation, according to a paper quoted by the New York Times. And concerns are being raised that these clinics are often operating and making claims beyond those allowed by the country’s public health regulatory…
August 3, 2016 News by admin Phase 2 Study of Oral Antibiotic to Treat Relapsing MS, RHB-104, Nearing Finish RedHill Biopharma announced that the final patient has completed the last step of its Phase 2 clinical study (CEASE-MS) of RHB-104 as a potential treatment for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). RHB-104 is an antibiotic oral medication that blocks inflammation in addition to killing bacteria. RHB-104 was originally developed as a treatment for…
August 1, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Progressive Dwindling, Vitamin D, Disability Burdens, Talking with Doctors, and My MS Manager App Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, from stories published on Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Nearly 75% of MS Patients in UK Study Went Through Progressive Decline Prior to Death Very few people living with MS or anyone close by affected by the disease can really…
July 29, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patients in US and UK Face Very Different Treatment We may have international cooperation and worldwide this and that, but the fact remains that countries vary drastically from one another in all sorts of ways. Take healthcare as an example, and the costs of treatment. Yes, we have the World Health Organization and there are various health-related initiatives…
July 28, 2016 News by admin There’s a Lack of Communication by Multiple Sclerosis Healthcare Providers, Study Indicates New research from England indicates that healthcare providers do not communicate enough with their patients about the possible outcomes for their multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, “How Do People with Multiple Sclerosis Experience Prognostic Uncertainty and Prognosis Communication? A Qualitative Study,“ appeared in the journal PLoS One.
July 28, 2016 Columns by admin Remyelination Studies Abound, But How About a Workable Therapy? Remyelination at the moment is the buzzword to beat all buzzwords in the world of research into, and treatment for, the vicious disease that is multiple sclerosis. Now, as you are reading this, you must have some knowledge of MS and are sure to know about the link between the…
July 27, 2016 Columns by admin Benign MS: If Only We Had Known Then What Researchers Know Now Now they tell me! People diagnosed with what is termed as benign MS can benefit from disease modifying drugs (DMDs), according to a new study. Fourteen years ago, when diagnosed as having MS, the neurologist told me that it was benign. He said it had taken 25 years to progress…
July 27, 2016 News by admin Nearly 75% of MS Patients in UK Study Went Through Progressive Decline Prior to Death A new study focused on an aspect of multiple sclerosis (MS) that is sometimes overlooked by researchers: progressive dwindling, or the tendency over time for people with MS to become increasingly frail and dependent on caregivers, with diminished energy and heightened disability. The report, “Progressive Dwindling in Multiple Sclerosis: An Opportunity…
July 26, 2016 Columns by admin ‘I am Cured,’ Says Woman with Aggressive Form of MS After Receiving HSCT in Canada An entry in the comments section of Multiple Sclerosis News Today caught my attention a couple of weeks ago, and peaked my interest. It was a personal tale of one woman’s journey from being paralyzed and told that her condition was “between you and God” to being able to walk again, thanks to HSCT.
July 25, 2016 Columns by admin BLOG: MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Nanobionic, Recruiting, Benign, Generic Danger, and ‘Inactive but Progressive’ Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Nanobionic Clothing Seen to Help Clear Body of Free Radicals Associated with MS and Other Diseases A recent study in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry…
July 22, 2016 Columns by admin Action Is Needed: Costs Limit MS Patients’ Access to DMTs A recent survey of more than 6,000 multiple sclerosis patients in the United States found that health insurance coverage can decide their access to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), and that that coverage is worsening, leaving a good number struggling to be able to pay for their treatment. As an MS patient myself, I find…
July 21, 2016 Columns by admin ‘My Super Diet Cured My MS! Buy My Book!’ There seems to be general agreement that achieving and keeping an overall level of good health is very important for people living with multiple sclerosis, or with any chronic illness for that matter. And one way to reach that goal, many will say, is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. It’s at…