May 21, 2015 News by admin 11-Year Follow-up of Bayer’s BENEFIT Interferon-beta1b Treatment Reveals Positive Results For MS Patients Results from the BENEFIT11 trial indicate thatĀ early treatment with IFNB-1b leads to improvements inĀ cognition and fatigue in the long-term, as well as sustained employment and favorable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes, measured at the 11-year mark. Supported byĀ Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the study, titled “Long-term Impact of Early MS Treatment with…
May 20, 2015 News by Kara Elam Genzyme Announces New Research Collaboration With Ablynx for Innovative Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutic Project This week, Belgian-based biopharmaceutical company Ablynx announced they have entered into an exclusive research collaboration with Genzyme, a Sanofi company, to investigate the use of Nanobodies as part of a targeted therapeutic strategy for multiple sclerosis (MS). Ā The research will utilize Genzymeās early-stage MS research programs involving neuroprotection…
May 20, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD International Multiple Sclerosis Conference to Focus on Patients’ Experience The 4thĀ International MS Patient Summit, which will be held on May 22 in Rome, Italy, will exploreĀ feedback fromĀ patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS) in an effortĀ to increase knowledge of the disease and, hopefully, improve treatments. Kaz Aston, theĀ conference moderator, is anĀ MS patient herselfĀ who was diagnosed with the…
May 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Case Study Explores Hypnosis as Potential Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms Two Dragons Hypnotherapy recently announced the results of a one-year case study that assessed the effects of hypnotherapyĀ on a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) named Kristen. Case studies such as these, while not enough to establish new scientific conclusions on how to effectively treat a disease such as MS, add…
May 18, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Genetic Variant as Predictor of Patients’ Response to MS Treatment A team led by researchers at San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy andĀ Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts recently revealed a new genetic variant linked to multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is entitled āA pharmacogenetic study implicates SLC9a9 in multiple sclerosis disease activityā and isĀ published in…
May 18, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MSAA Organizes Make a Splash Fundraising Event for Memorial Day The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is organizing a national fundraising campaignĀ just inĀ time for summer. TheĀ Swim for MSĀ event willĀ help the association fund activities and support the multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā community with crucialĀ services to help improve the lives of the 400,000 people in the United…
May 18, 2015 News by admin Gut Bacteria: Key to MS? There has been a great deal of recent interest in the connection between nervous system function and the complex bacteria that are found in the gastrointestinal system, known as the gut microbiome. Some scientists believe that differences in the type of bacteria found in the gut mayĀ underlie neurological disease. In…
May 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Yale and MIT Researchers Discover a Key Immune Difference in Multiple Sclerosis Patients A new study recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine revealed a key difference in immune T cells between multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy individuals. The study is entitled āFunctional inflammatory profiles distinguish myelin-reactive T cells from patients with multiple sclerosisā and…
May 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Singer Releases Song About MS Recovery After Receiving Stem Cell Therapy Singer Kristen King began to experience fatigue, muscle weakness and later paralysis in some parts of the body in 2013, and it came asĀ a shock when she was diagnosed withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). After struggling to deal with the unfortunate newsĀ and her new reality, the singer has now…
May 14, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Celiac Disease Found to Be Linked to Increased Risk of Multiple Sclerosis, Nerve Damage A study recently published in the journal JAMA Neurology revealed that celiac disease is linked to a significant increase in the risk of nerve damage. The study is entitled āRisk of Neuropathy Among 28,232 Patients With Biopsy-Verified Celiac Diseaseā and was conducted by researchers…
May 14, 2015 News by admin PA Hospital Begins Offering LEMTRADA as Treatment for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis The Allegheny General Hospital in Pennsylvania is now offering a new treatment option for people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) — the most common form of multiple sclerosis.Ā Ā The treatment may help people with RRMS who have not responded to other medications. MS is an autoimmune disorder in which the…
May 13, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Major Progressive MS Trial Completes Enrollment For Experimental Therapy While multiple sclerosis (MS) is consideredĀ a rare condition with majorĀ unmet medical needs, the treatments for progressive forms of MS are evenĀ scarcer, with no viable, FDA-approved drugs available to specifically addressĀ these forms of the disease. Because of this, the MS community is eagerly followingĀ a major…
May 12, 2015 News by admin Amarantus Releases Preliminary Data From Blood-Based MS Diagnostic Amarantus BioScienceĀ has released preliminary data from a blood test for multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā called theĀ MSPrecise diagnostic. The company believes that the test could lead to more accurate diagnoses of MSĀ early in the disease’s progression. MSPrecise is a DNA sequencing test designed to identify specific DNA mutations that are associated with the…
May 12, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Identify Drugs That Promote Remyelination in Mice In a recent publication in Nature,Ā titled “Drug-based modulation of endogenous stem cells promotes functional remyelination in vivo”Ā a team of researchers from Case Western University and Northwestern University screened a libraryĀ of small molecules to assess their ability to drive the conversion of…
May 11, 2015 News by admin Problem Drinking in MS Associated with Anxiety and Family History Multiple sclerosis (MS) presents many life-altering challenges, but mostĀ patients naturallyĀ focus most often on the physical challenges associated with the condition: problems with movement, sensation and vision that occur as part of disease progression. Unfortunately, depression and suicidal thoughts are common as well. New research suggests that thereĀ could be a relationship…
May 11, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Oral Drugs May Reduce Preference for Injectable Drugs in Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Frost & SullivanĀ recently publishedĀ a report entitled āA Product and Pipeline Analysis of the Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics Marketā providing insight into the global multiple sclerosis (MS) drug market. In this report, a competitive evaluation of MS pharmaceutical drugs currently available in the market and experimental drugs in…
May 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Student Changes Life Plans to Help Others with MS Just like any student, Stephanie Butler was excited to start working, in her case as a nurse, when she beganĀ experiencing numbness in herĀ limbs and lost sensation below the waist. It was the first time the student nurse was goingĀ to administer anesthesia to a patient, three years ago, when after a…
May 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MediciNova Completes Enrollment for Phase 2b Study of Experimental Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Treatment MediciNova, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs, recently announced that the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) notified the company of full enrollment of theirĀ ongoing clinical study evaluating ibudilastĀ (MN-166) for the treatment of progressive…
May 7, 2015 News by admin Myelin Repair Foundation and NIH to Study Guanabenz for MS The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) and National Institutes of HealthĀ (NIH)Ā will initiateĀ a clinical trial of guanabenz in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Guanabenz is FDA-approved for high blood pressure, but it may also prevent myelin loss. The drug could be the first for MS to protect myelin from…
May 5, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Promising New Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis Based on Placenta Cells A study published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, led by researchers at Mount SinaiĀ in New York and Celgene Cellular TherapeuticsĀ revealed that an infusion based on cells derived from the placenta proved to be safe for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a…
May 4, 2015 News by Maureen Newman EXCLUSIVE: Opexa Developing Tcelna as a True Personalized MS Therapy For SPMS, RRMS After the Phase 2b clinical trial named Abili-T achieved full enrollment with 190 secondary progress multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients, The Woodlands, Texas-based Opexa TherapeuticsĀ is patiently awaiting results for the company’s lead candidate, Tcelna, which are expected in the second half of 2016.
May 1, 2015 News by admin Genzyme’s LEMTRADA Maintain’s Effectiveness in Reducing Brain Atrophy According to Recent Study Results GenzymeĀ presentedĀ new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the LemtradaĀ® (alemtuzumab) clinical development programĀ onĀ April 23, 2015, at the 67th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting. The company showed that in the extension phase of two Phase III trials (years 3 and 4), the drug continued to protect the nervous…
April 30, 2015 News by Charles Moore Study Outlines Alarming Inflation Of MS Drug Costs Over Past Two Decades Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) College of PharmacyĀ and Oregon State University (OSU) at Corvallis, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, have documented an “alarming rise” over the last 20 years in the costs of drugs used to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis…
April 30, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Society To Invest Ā£2 million in Edinburgh Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research The MS Society recently announced it will invest Ā£2 million intoĀ the Edinburgh Centre for MS Research. This fundingĀ will support the research work of a team of about fifteen world-leading research experts from the University of Edinburgh. The team co-directed by Professors Siddharthan Chandran and Charles ffrench-Constant will continue their…
April 29, 2015 News by admin Preliminary Results For MS Stem Cell Trial Reveals Safety, Tolerability in Test Subjects Tisch MS Research Center of New York (Tisch MSRCNY) researchers presented preliminary results from an FDA-approved Phase I trial,Ā a small-scale investigation in humans using autologous neural stem cells for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system launches an…
April 29, 2015 News by admin Can Suppressing a Protein Associated With Good Health Help Treat MS? Gladstone Institutes scientists have discoveredĀ a successful new treatment that could potentially be used in multiple sclerosis (MS). The treatment involves suppressing a protein that traditionally is associated with overall good health. The study,Ā SIRT1 Deacetylates RORĪ³t and Enhances Th17 Cell Generation, appeared April 27, 2015 in theĀ Journal…
April 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Views and News to Host Educational Patient Programs in May MS Views and News (MSVN), aĀ non-profit organization focused on collecting and distributing information aboutĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), is hosting a series of educational patient programs and events during the month of May. The events have different themes,Ā but are all focused on the management of MS, includingĀ medication, avoiding…
April 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers, Biotech Companies Present Key MS Discoveries & Therapy Updates at Recent Conference TheĀ 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting took place last week in Washington, DC and included eight investigators from theĀ Tisch MS Research Center of New York, whose research efforts focus onĀ finding a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers attendedĀ the meeting to share data and insightsĀ on…
April 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD FDA Accepts Bayerās BETACONNECT License Application for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Bayer HealthCareĀ recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the filing of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for BETACONNECT forĀ the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). BETACONNECT isĀ a new drug delivery option for patients under Bayerās BETASERONĀ® (interferon beta-1b) therapy. MS is a…
April 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Study Tests Safety & Efficacy of New Treatment Intervals For MS Therapy Natalizumab A new study presented last week during the American Academy of Neurologyās 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC provides new treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis (MS) using a monoclonal antibody already used in some MS patients. MS is a disease characterized by the destruction of insulating covers on nerve cells…