November 19, 2014 News by Isaura Santos ‘Treat Me Right’ MS Society Campaign Shortlisted For Award TheĀ Treat Me RightĀ campaign from the MSĀ SocietyĀ in the UK was recentlyĀ shortlistedĀ for this year’s voluntary sector campaignĀ Public Affairs Award. The campaign was launched in April 2014 during MS Week to raise awareness for the importance of providing the right treatment at the right moment…
November 19, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Drug Effectively Induces Remyelination in Pre-clinical Study In a poster session at the Annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington,Ā ENDECE Neural presented pre-clinical results showing their lead drug ā NDC-1308 ā induces remyelination in mouse models of demyelination disease, such as Multiple Sclerosis. Loss of myelin is the main characteristic of a group…
November 18, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Home Exterior Company Remodels and Repairs MS Patient’s Home for Free For those with Multiple Sclerosis, the progressive manner in which the disease slowly deteriorates motor function, balance, and coordination can make home maintenance an impossibility. Add to this the well-documented issues that MS patients have with finding and keeping jobs and very quickly the cost and effort to maintain…
November 17, 2014 News by Charles Moore Genzyme’s Lemtrada Approved by the FDA Cambridge, Massachusetts based Genzyme announced Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company’s new drug Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for treatment of people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, which includes people who experience periodic MS attacks, such as those who have relapsing-remitting MS or secondary-progressive…
November 17, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Limb Spasm Treatments for MS Patients Explored by Flex Pharma and Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Upper limb spasticity and lower leg cramps and spasms, two conditions that affect patients with multiple sclerosis, are being treated in separate clinical trials with results from both showing positive benefits. Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA), from Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., and transient receptor potential (TRP) activators, from…
November 14, 2014 News by Charles Moore Sailboat Crewed by MS Patients Circumnavigating the Globe Oceans of Hope, a 67-foot sail yacht currently docked at North Cove Marina, New York, is on a round-the-world voyage to become the first ship to ever circumnavigate with a crew of people who have Multiple Sclerosis. The voyage, initiated by Sailing Sclerosis Foundation, set sail from Copenhagen, Denmark…
November 13, 2014 News by Charles Moore New Microparticle Secondary Progressive MS Therapy Dosing Tested In Australian Clinical Trial New Zealand and Australia-based Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited, a medical biotechnology company with offices in Sydney and Auckland, has issued an update regarding its Phase 2B trial for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) and other recent activities. The Phase 2B MIS416 trial Patient dosing with MIS416…
November 13, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Launches New Patient Support Website One of the country’s leading non-profit multiple sclerosis organizations, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), has just launched a new patient support website called, My MS Journey. It is a comprehensive online resource designed to answer the specific and varied needs of MS patients, whether they have…
November 12, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Use of Del-1 Protein Reduces Multiple Sclerosis Severity in Mouse Study In a study entitled āDevelopmental endothelial locus-1 is a homeostatic factor in the central nervous system limiting neuroinflammation and demyelinationā the authors report to have found a new protein, Del-1, that reduces the severity of multiple sclerosis disease in a mouse model of the disease. The…
November 11, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Obesity Linked To Multiple Sclerosis? A team of researchers at the Tel Aviv University report the role of obesity as a major risk factor triggering and maintaining autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s Disease and multiple sclerosis. The study was published in Autoimmunity Reviews. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system reacts against the body…
November 10, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Patients Being Evaluated as Fit to Work, Receiving Lower Benefits, Charities Alert Patients who suffer from progressive conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), are submitted to unnecessary evaluations for disability benefits and often denied the full payment of their out-of-work benefits or deemed as fit to work when they are in fact not able. This new perspective was highlighted by a…
November 7, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Biogen Idec Gives $1.4M to New MS Research Program in Alberta Photo From University of Alberta The company behind FDA-approved multiple sclerosis drug AVONEXĀ® (Interferon beta-1a), Biogen Idec, together with the government of the province of Alberta, has…
November 5, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Teva and Active Biotech Expand Investigational MS Treatment Program Drug manufacturersĀ Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.Ā and Active Biotech announced that they expanding the ongoing clinical research program for the study ofĀ laquinimod, a potential treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), as the companies are now initiating theĀ ARPEGGIO trial. In addition, Teva has also announced…
November 5, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genzyme Clinical Trial for Relapsing-Remitting MS Enrolls 1st Patient Sanofi subsidiary and rare disease treatment specialistĀ GenzymeĀ has just announced the successful enrollment of the first participant in their multicenter Phase II clinical trial for the company’s pipeline intravenous drug forĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), vatelizumab. This novel drug is composed of humanized monoclonal antibodies that specifically target…
November 4, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD National MS Society Grants $457,921 to Kessler Foundation Researcher The National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ recently awarded MS researcher Lauren Strober, PhD from the Kessler Foundation, a three-year grant for her investigational research, totaling $457,921. The funding is part of a multi-site study that will be conducted by the investigator to understand the influence that having…
November 4, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD MRIs are Revealing Multiple Sclerosis in Patients, Even Before Symptoms Begin A study entitled āLongitudinal Follow-up of a Cohort of Patients with Incidental Abnormal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings at Presentation and Their Risk of Developing Multiple Sclerosisā published in the International Journal of MS Care reports that asymptomatic patients accompanied by Magnetic Resonance Images suggestive of…
November 3, 2014 News by Charles Moore Vitamin D Deficiency Found Highly Prevalent Across the Board in MS, Neuromuscular Disease A study presented at the 61st annual meeting of the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) held October 29 to November 1 in Savannah, Georgia, further corroborates growing awareness of a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in neuromuscular disease.’ The study, entitled “…
October 31, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Neuroprotective Qualities of Masitinib Drug in Stroke Encouraging For MS Indication An encouraging experimental drug that is being developed for Multiple Sclerosis continues to show promise in being able to offer neuroprotective benefits — an effect that could slow and eventually cure MS.Ā Masitinib,Ā which is being developed by AB Science forĀ numerous neurological indications, including Alzheimer’s disease, progressive multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic…
October 30, 2014 News by Isaura Santos Multiple Sclerosis, Autoimmune Disease Diagnoses, Treatments To Improve Using New DNA Software Researchers from UC San Francisco, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Yale School of Medicine recently developed a software tool that helps researchers understand the complex genetic origins of many autoimmune diseases and, ultimately, to better diagnose and treat them. The study was published yesterday inĀ …
October 29, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Sydney Bikers Join Efforts to Fundraising on MS Gong Ride Sunday Next Sunday, November 2nd,Ā Sydney, Australia will hold one of the country’s largest fundraising events to support multiple sclerosis research and advocacy, theĀ MS Gong Ride, aĀ one day community bike ride designed to collect $3.8 million. Each biker is asked to help raise $250 for the historic ride that celebrates its…
October 29, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Drug Clears Key FDA Hurdle, To Be Tested in U.S. A new human clinical trial testing the drug ATL1102 to treat Multiple Sclerosis was approved by FDA, carrying the promise of new therapeutics to affected patients. Antisense Therapeutics Limited (ANP) announced recently in a press release the FDA’s positive decision to approve their request to submit an Investigational…
October 28, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Philip De Jager Awarded 2014 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research The National Multiple Sclerosis Society granted the 2014Ā Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research to Philip Laurence De Jager, MD, PhD, who is a neurologist atĀ Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as an associate professor of neurology at the Harvard Medical School. The award, meant to…
October 27, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Positive Data from Two Key MS Trials Added To Aubagio’s U.S. Label The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted the results from Genzyme’s TOWER and TOPIC Ā clinical trials,Ā which assessed the safety and efficacy of oral, once-daily AubagioĀ® (teriflunomide) for Multiple Sclerosis, and will add the positive data to the productās U.S. label. Genzyme is a leader in the development…
October 27, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD IGF-1 Could Suppress Immune System in Multiple Sclerosis, Other Autoimmune Disease Among autoimmune diseases, Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most progressive and debilitating, affecting between 300,000 and 400,000 people in the United States alone. The cause of the disease remains elusive to researchers, making it extremely difficult to research and develop effective therapies for treating symptoms and reversing neural…
October 24, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Society Canada Urges Parliamentarians to Improve MS Clinics While Canada is home to one of the world’s most comprehensive social healthcare systems, it is unfortunately home to one of the largestĀ multiple sclerosisĀ patient populations as well. According to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, at least 100,000 Canadians have the disease, and at least 20,000 of them live…
October 23, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Study Finds No Link Between Vaccines and Multiple Sclerosis A new study entitled, āVaccines and the Risk of Multiple Sclerosis and Other Central Nervous System Demyelinating Diseasesā published in theĀ JAMA Neurology journal, reports that no association was observed between vaccinations and an increased risk for Multiple Sclerosis or other central nervous system…
October 23, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Consortium of MS Centers Hosts Annual Meeting Next May in Indiana The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) has announced that its next annual meeting will be held in 2015 between May 27 th and 30th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. TheĀ 2015 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers aims to gather healthcare professionals as…
October 22, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD High Level of Multiple Sclerosis Diagnoses Observed Among Patients with Inflammatory Eye Disease The first and largest study on the association between Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Uveitis was recently presented at the 18th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.Ā The meeting was held at the McCormick Place in Chicago between October 17-21, 2014. Uveitis is a disorder characterized by inflammation of…
October 22, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Dimension Data Helps Raise $130K for National MS Society One of the most effective and engaging fundraising strategies the National Multiple Sclerosis Society organizes annually is the Bike MS series. Several times a year, in different locations throughout the country, thousands of MS patients from all over the world, as well as friends, family, and advocacy…
October 21, 2014 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Patients May Benefit From Use of Dorsiflexion Assist Orthotic, According To Research Much of the research and development focus for treating Multiple Sclerosis revolves around pharmaceuticals. However, the development and use of novel medical devices are also becoming a factor in treating the disease as well. A new study entitled āA dorsiflexion assist orthosis reduces the physiological cost…