September 1, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Multiple Sclerosis Drug May Repair Nerve Demyelination As researchers continue to develop a clearer understanding of the underlying causes ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), it is becoming increasingly apparent that the future of treating the disease is likely to center on neural protection and a reversal of the demyelination process that strips away the critical insulation…
September 1, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Consumption of High Amounts of Salt May Worsen MS Symptoms, Study Suggests A diet high in salt can worsenĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) symptoms, as well as increase the risks ofĀ neurological deterioration, according to an observational study led byĀ Mauricio Farez, from theĀ Universidad del SalvadorĀ in Buenos Aires, Argentina and recently published at theĀ Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry,Ā entitled, “Sodium intake is associated with…
August 26, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Blind Cyclist Joins Bike to the Bay Sept. 20-21 to Raise Funds for Multiple Sclerosis For many people such as attorney Richard Nenno from Delaware, joining a fundraising sport event stems from a highly personal mission. Despite being blind, Nenno plans to join next month’s Bike to the Bay event for multiple sclerosis (MS), and he will be doing it in memory of his…
August 25, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Biogen’s Tysabri, Novartis’ Gilenya Being Considered For Funding In New Zealand Health System The Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) is consideringĀ a funding proposal that includes five treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), namely two key MS drugs, Ā Biogen‘s TysabriĀ andĀ Novartis‘ Gilenya, thatĀ are not currently funded. PHARMACĀ is the New Zealand Crown agency that decides, on behalf of District…
August 19, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 90 Secondary Progressive MS Patients To Be Recruited To Test Novel Experimental Therapy New Zealand and Ā Australian-based biotechnology company Innate ImmunotherapeuticsĀ recently announced that it has begun to recruit patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS)Ā for its phase 2B trial of its experimental therapy MIS416. The study, which will be administered by theĀ Western Australian…
August 14, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Big Multiple Sclerosis Conference Scheduled For September in Boston Just yesterday, the President of theĀ Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS),Ā Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, publicly announced the details of this year’sĀ MSBoston2014Ā conference, in collaboration with the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). According to Dhib-Jalbut — who is also the…
August 13, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Promising Multiple Sclerosis Research Partnership Between Biogen Idec, Regulus Renewed Regulus Therapeutics, Inc., a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the research and development of experimental drugs that target microRNAs, recently announced that it has signed a contract to work together with Biogen Idec. Under Regulus’ microMarkersā¢ project,Ā the two companies will be collaborating on research efforts to…
August 8, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD NUC Reports Promising Results of Stem Cell Transplants in MS Patients A new stem cell transplantĀ therapy may offer patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) an alternative treatment option. According to a recent report on KCBDĀ by Kasie Davis, researchers are pointing to the success of an MS patient namedĀ Dan Tiel, who had been reduced to living in a wheelchair due to…
August 7, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Italian Researchers Connect Fatigue in MS Patients To Localized Brain Damage The common symptom of fatigue experienced by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may be caused by regional damage in the brain, according to research conducted at theĀ Vita-Salute San Raffaele UniversityĀ in Italy and published in the journalĀ Radiology. Scientists analyzedĀ atrophies and lesions in the white matter and grey matter of 65…
August 4, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD UPDATE: Australian Authorities Warn About Unapproved MS Stem Cell Treatments After Death in Russia Australian authorities are alerting Multiple Sclerosis patients to the risk of unproven stem cell treatments that are being performed both in the country and overseas, after the recent death of a woman in Russia undergoing a controversial treatment for the disease. The continued marketing campaigns to…
July 31, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD After Delay, Innate Immunotherapeutics’ MIS416 Trial For Secondary Progressive MS Therapy To Begin Enrolling in August In spite of an eight week delay, New Zealand-basedĀ Innate ImmunotherapeuticsĀ is still planning to enroll patients for its phase 2b clinical trial that will study theĀ experimental drugĀ MIS416Ā for secondary progressive MS. The clinical research organization (CRO) involved in the management of the trial informed the company about the…
July 28, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Biogen Idec’s Injection Plegridy Approved in Europe to Treat RRMS The European Commission granted marketing authorization for the use of Plegridy, a drug developed by Biogen IdecĀ as a treatment for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),Ā the most common form of multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval comes at a time when…
July 28, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Complementary and Alternative Medicine is Gaining Credibility Among MS Patients Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are no substitutes for the regular treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), however, they are becoming more common among patients as a way of alleviating the symptoms of the disease. Massage therapy is an example of that. 36-year-old Jessica Rich is a patient who embraced…
July 25, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD FDA Removes Partial Clinical Hold for CTP-354, Concert Pharmaceuticals’ Novel Drug for MS, Spasticity The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Ā recently notifiedĀ Concert Pharmaceuticals that the company had fulfilled all necessary preclinical toxicological tests for theĀ oral therapyĀ CTP-354Ā for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and spasticity. The authorization to administer repeated doses of the compound,Ā in excess of 6 mg per day,…
July 23, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD USC PhD Student Creates Project to Treat MS with Nanotechnology A Ph.D. student at theĀ University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, Kun Yue, is developing a model of selected brain circuits to study multiple sclerosis (MS) in an effort to develop a nanotechnology based treatment for the disease.Ā Yue believes that new technology can lead…
July 22, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD NICE Turns Back and Approves Biogenās Oral MS Drug Tecfidera in the UK The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) gave a positive final appraisal determination to the use of the Biogen Idec‘s drugĀ Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) in adults for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), having turned back on their preliminary negative recommendation. TheĀ oral…
July 18, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 8 Compounds Potentially Useful For Treating MS Discovered Using Innovative Research Tool Eight new drugs that are able to stimulate the nervous system were discovered by a research team atĀ UC San Francisco recently. The team utilized a novel screening platform and examined the cellular effects of 1,000 chemical compounds. The scientists believe the discovery may impact the treatment of the tissue…
July 18, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Startup ImStem Raising Funds For Novel Stem-Cell MS Treatment Startup biotech company ImStem BiotechnologyĀ is looking to raise additional funding for their upcoming clinical trials after publishing promising research on a unique stem-cellĀ treatment used on mice withĀ multiple sclerosis. Ā The company has already received previous funding…
July 16, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Lemtrada For RRMS Still Under Review in the U.S., Now Approved in Scotland The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) Ā announced the approval of the drug Lemtrada, produced byĀ Genzyme, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and active disease defined by clinical or imaging features, within the national health system (NHS) in Scotland. Lemtrada…
July 15, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Music Professor With MS Featured In PBS Documentary About the Disease The American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) recently aired a documentary about a University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) music professor, who suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), on OETA.Ā “Healed: Music, Medicine and Life with MS,” tells the story of Jim Klages‘s struggle against the disease. Klages was an accomplished musician and…
July 10, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Bike MS Ride in Colorado Raises $3.8 million To Support Research Bike MS, a two-day ride between Westminster and Fort Collins, in Colorado, raised $3.8 million to support the multiple sclerosis (MS) research, thanks to the help ofĀ over 3,000 riders, volunteers, and advocates. Bikers started the journey last Saturday and rode back to Westminster Sunday morning. The money raised, from…
July 9, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Care Costs Rose 60 Percent in 7 Years, According To Study The main costs of care for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients continue to be driven predominantly by common MS “sequelae” —Ā a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease or injury —Ā according to a recent study from theĀ BMC Health Services Research. However, in spite of cost drivers remaining steady,…
July 1, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Genzyme Drug Lemtrada Approved in Argentina, Still Under Review in US Lemtrada, a drug produced by GenzymeĀ for the treatment of adult patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with active disease, was approved by Argentinaās National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT). “We are pleased by the continued global support for Lemtrada,” said Genzyme…
June 30, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Actavis Plans Generic Version of Acorda’s Multiple Sclerosis Drug Ampyra Acorda TherapeuticsĀ recently announced receiving a notice letter from pharmaceutical companyĀ Actavis PlcĀ indicating theirĀ plansĀ to commercialize a generic version of Ampyra, Acorda’s multiple sclerosis treatment drug. Acorda claims that Actavis submitted a marketing approval application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking permission to develop and commercialize a new drug,…
June 25, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Hilton Foundation Opens Submissions for Innovation Award in MS The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is accepting submissions for the first edition of the MarilynĀ HiltonĀ Award for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research, which will support novelĀ and potentially paradigm-shifting research on Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The award will grant up to $6 million in funding to several projects over a four-year…
June 25, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Roche Turns to MS Research on Agreement with Versant Ventures The Swiss pharmaceutical companyĀ RocheĀ recently announced a partnership agreement with California-based Inception Sciences and venture capital firm Versant Ventures. The three companies will work together to form a new company, Inception 5, which will be dedicated mostly to the development of therapies for multiple sclerosis. Inception 5’s research will focus…
June 23, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Compassionate Use Trial of Innate Immunotherapeutics’ Multiple Sclerosis Drug Shows Positive Results Australian biotechnology companyĀ Innate Immunotherapeutics’ trial for a drug designed to treat secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has produced positive results. Innate’s experimental MIS416 has revealed benefits to the majority of SPMS patients who were prescribed it as a “compassionate use drug,” given the total lack of…
June 23, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Physiotherapist Creates Group Exercise Manual for MS Patients Group exercise could be very beneficial in improving the health of multiple sclerosis patients, according to Sheila Lennon, Physiotherapy ProfessorĀ fromĀ Flinders University, in Adelaide, Australia. Lennon is the creator of a new training manual for clinicians, as she advocates the need forĀ regular and ongoing physiotherapy in the public health system.
June 19, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Foundation Launches First MS Online Radio Station Recently launched by the non-profit Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF),Ā MSFocusRadio.org is the first online radio station for the MS community, designed to increase awareness of the disease and provide continuing health-related education for the MS patient population. According to the new radio station’s website, “The mission of MS…
June 18, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Lipoatrophy Occurrence for MS Patients Higher than Originally Thought The risk of developing lipoatrophy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients administrated with glatiramer acetate is greater than 60 percent, according to a study developed at theĀ Riverside Medical Clinic that reviewed 73 MS patients. It was already known that the drug could cause the condition, however the rate is higher…