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 Maureen Newman Long-Term Cognitive Impairment from Multiple Sclerosis Reaffirmed by Kessler Foundation Researchers at the Kessler Foundation bolstered the knowledge of cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis patients with an article published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. This longitudinal study is one of the longest among studies of cognition in multiple sclerosis. “While cognitive impairment is known to affect…
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 24, 2014 News by admin Multiple Sclerosis Drug Gilenya May Also Stop Chemotherapy Pain, According To Research A team of researchers from the University of Saint Louis has found a molecular pathway involved in a painful chemotherapy side effects, and a drug that might be able to stop it. Paclitaxel (also known as Taxol) is a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat different forms of cancer…
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 20, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Unique Stem Cell Therapy from StemGenex Studied in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Multiple sclerosis patients may soon benefit from StemGenex’s leading resource of adult adipose stem cells. StemGenex is now recruiting patients for a clinical trial investigating the regenerative potential of multiple sclerosis patients’ autologous stem cells derived from their own stromal vascular fraction. “Currently available drugs for multiple sclerosis…
June 19, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Remyelination Strategies for Multiple Sclerosis Presented at Biogen Idec-Sponsored NYAS Conference On June 26th, a conference devoted to the topic of “Demyelination and Remyelination: From Mechanism to Therapy” will be presented by the New York Academy of Sciences and Acorda Therapeutics. The topic hits home to millions of people worldwide suffering from demyelinating diseases, especially those affected by multiple sclerosis.
June 19, 2014 News by Charles Moore Increased R&D Focus On PoNS Neuromodulation Therapy Device For People With MS; Other Neurological Conditions Newtown, Pennsylvania based Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. announced on June 6th that the company has entered into an agreement and plan of merger whereby the Company has agreed to acquire 100% of issued and outstanding common shares of Neurohabilitation Corporation (“Neuro”) of Delaware by way of a plan of…
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…
June 18, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Biogen Idec, AbbVie Show Superiority of Daclizumab High Yield Process in RRMS Biogen Idec, who recently presented over 60 company-sponsored presentations at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Sixth Cooperative Meeting with Americas Committee for Treatment and…
June 16, 2014 News by Charles Moore Can Low Carb, High Fat Ketogenic Diets Improve MS And Other Neurological Disease Symptoms? Dr. Terry Wahls, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A., where she teaches internal medicine residents in primary care clinics, in addition to being a physician is also a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient. First diagnosed in 2000,…
June 16, 2014 News by Charles Moore Natalizumab, Other Biogen Idec MS Therapies Featured at Medical Congresses; Company Joins Sailing Sclerosis Foundation Oceans of Hope Project Biogen Idec, a U.S. biotechnology company specializing in therapies for neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer, has announced that more than 60 company-sponsored presentations highlighting key data from its extensive portfolio of marketed and investigational multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies were featured during two 2014 neurology conferences. The company…
June 16, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researcher Recommends Brain Imaging To Treat MS-Related Depression Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict responses to depression treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to Anthony Feinstein, Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre & the University of Toronto. In the presentation āDepression in MS: Is brain imaging helpful?ā at…
June 13, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Motor and Sensory Rehabilitation Training Benefits Multiple Sclerosis Patients’ Balance A study involving a clinical trial treating multiple sclerosis patients with sensory training was published in Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation and reports optimistic results. Lead author Davide Cattaneo,…
June 12, 2014 News by Charles Moore Researchers Report Alternate Explanation Discovery Of How And Why CCSVI Treatment Works In MS Patients A new study may offer new insight on beneficial effects of “chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency” (CCSVI or CCVI) treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and certain other disease conditions. CCSVI is the controversial theory that blocked neck veins are a major factor in many MS cases proposed by Italian physician…
June 11, 2014 News by Charles Moore Better MS Tracking Tool Developed by Robarts Institute Scientists At University of Western Ontario A team of magnetic imaging scientists led by Dr. Ravi Menon, PhD, at the University of Western Ontario’s Robarts Research Institute have developed a better way to track the progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) from its very early stages. The Robarts researchers used a technique called Quantitative Susceptibility…
June 10, 2014 News by admin Experimental Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Therapy From Receptos Reveals Positive Endpoint Data in Phase 2 Results Following the promising results of prior trials, Receptos, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the treatment of immune and metabolic diseases, announced that the Phase 2 portion of the RADIANCE trial has met the primary endpoint, a reduction in MRI brain lesion activity in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis…
June 9, 2014 News by Maureen Newman ImStem Uses Embryonic Stem Cells to Treat Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis ImStem Biotechnology, Inc. is one step closer to harnessing the power of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to treat multiple sclerosis. Most recently, ImStem announced the successful treatment of an animal model of multiple sclerosis (experimental autoimmune encephalitis, EAE) using mesenchymal stem cells derived from hESCs (hES-MSCs). Using hES-MSCs…
June 9, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency Is Not a Cause of Multiple Sclerosis Charles Moore, Science and Research Editor of Multiple Sclerosis News Today, recently reported two controversial, potential treatment options for multiple sclerosis. The first, “liberation therapy,” was conjured by Dr. Paolo Zamboni in…
June 5, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD International Committee Recommends Revision of MS Definitions snig / Shutterstock.com Following yesterday’s publication ofĀ āMultiple Sclerosis Management ā A Changing Landscape 2013,ā a report outlining ongoing goals and focus points for advancing MS drugs and treatments, as a result of a meeting of specialists in Vienna, Austria, a new article…
June 5, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Biogen Idec Investigates Tysabri in Secondary-Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Patients Biogen Idec is currently sponsoring a clinical trial evaluating its therapy Tysabri (natalizumab) in patients with secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis. Although relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis is more common and well-researched, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates approximately half of relapse-remitting patients will transition to secondary-progressive within 19 years of diagnosis. The…
June 4, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Report Outlines Scholars’ Meeting Concerns Over MS Treatment, Drug Development A new report was recently released outlining researchers’ ongoing goals and focus points for advancing MS drug development and treatment options. āMultiple Sclerosis Management ā A Changing Landscape 2013ā is the result of a meeting held in Vienna, Austria in April of 2013Ā that brought together 372…
June 4, 2014 News by admin New Analysis Suggests Some MS Patients Need Extra Encouragement For Physical Activity A secondary analysis of data from a previous trial of an Internet-based exercise intervention in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) suggests that the program wasnāt as effective on the subgroups of MS patients to whom physical activity is more important, reports John Gever…
June 3, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Interferon Beta-1a Protects Relapse-Remitting MS Patients from Brain Volume Reduction Research from the State University of New York at Buffalo suggests a protective link between interferon beta-1a treatment and brain volume loss (atrophy) in patients with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis. Michael Dwyer, PhD, presented his study at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) and…
June 3, 2014 News by Charles Moore Another Canadian Study Finds No Link Between Blocked Neck Veins And MS Another study, in what has become a succession of Canadian studies, has failed to detect a link between blocked neck veins and multiple sclerosis proposed by Italian physician and researcher Dr. Paolo Zamboni in 2008 (a report in the Lancet noted that this hypothesis was originally posed by…
June 2, 2014 News by Charles Moore Genzyme Resubmits Multiple Sclerosis Drug Lemtrada For FDA sBLA Approval Review Cambridge, Mass. Based Genzyme, a Sanofi subsidiary, announced May 30 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the companyās resubmission of its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval of its proprietary drug Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
June 2, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD UT Medicine Multiple Sclerosis Clinic Selected As MS Partner In Care The network of nationally recognized Multiple Sclerosis centers continues to grow throughout the United States. Recently, theĀ Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at University of Texas (UT) Medicine San Antonio was selected as the new Multiple Sclerosis Partner in Care, a recognition granted byĀ the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The new…
May 30, 2014 News by Charles Moore Is Vitamin D Supplementation Effective For Fighting Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, and Parkinson’s? Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin chiropractor, naturopath and health blogger Dr. J.G. Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP notes that while its been known since 1922 that Vitamin D is vital for bone health, recent research reveals its importance in many other body functions, and suggests that the “sunshine” Vitamin is, for example,…