January 30, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Inspiration Offers Sports Tickets on Campaign with Tyler Campbell and Chris Wright Tyler Campbell, the son of the NFL Hall of Famer Earl Campbell, and professional basketball player Chris Wright are not only well-known sports figures, but also for inspiring others with their life journey and struggle with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Now, Campbell and Wright are inviting other patients who…
January 29, 2015 News by Charles Moore Biogen Idec Enters Big Data Collaborations WIth Google and Imperial College London To Better Understand MS A report by Bloomberg News‘ Caroline Chen says multinational biotech firm Biogen Idec Inc. is teaming up with Internet and IT colossus Google, pooling efforts to research environmental and biological factors potentially associated with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) progression. Ms. Chen notes that the Biogen Idec relationshipĀ is…
January 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Partners With Local Businesses To Raise Funds, Awareness Total Fitness Club (TFC), a private, employee-owned fitness company based in Swansea, MassachusettsĀ recently announced the top placers of their inaugural and yearly Thanksgiving 5K Run & 3K WalkĀ for the benefit of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA). The event, which pulled together support from a litany…
January 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MuckFest MS Recently Featured on ABC’s āThe Bachelorā The fundraising event MuckFest MS, which takes place this year between April and November inĀ 11 different cities acrossĀ the U.S. to help supportĀ the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and patients who live with multiple sclerosis, was recentlyĀ featured on an episode of ABC’sĀ TV reality seriesĀ The Bachelor.
January 26, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD US Supreme Court Rules on Teva Pharma’s Copaxone Patent Case Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. recently made a major announcement on the U.S. Supreme Court‘s ruling on the matter of “Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. et al. Petitioners v. Sandoz Inc. et al. that reversed the Federal Circuit Courtās judgment of invalidity…
January 23, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Kessler Foundation Study Says Cognitive Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis Depends on Task Length A study from a team of researchers at the Kessler Foundation provides new findings on multiple sclerosis (MS). According to the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, cognitive fatigueĀ exhibited by MS patients is related toĀ the length of the task they are involved in. Fatigue…
January 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Stem Cell Transplantation May Improve Disability in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis A new research study indicates that in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), treatment with nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation leads toĀ improvement in neurological impairment and quality of life. The study, entitled āAssociation of Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation With Neurological Disability in Patients With Relapsing-Remitting Multiple…
January 21, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Receptos Launches SUNBEAM Phase 3 Trial for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Biopharmaceutical companyĀ Receptos, Inc. has enrolled the first participantĀ withĀ relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in its SUNBEAM phase 3 trial, which will evaluate the potential therapyĀ RPC1063 in patients who suffer from the disease. The company’s phase 3 RADIANCE trial, also…
January 20, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Amarantus Acquires DioGenix to Bolster New MS Diagnostic Division Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc. has announced the acquisition ofĀ DioGenix, Inc., which will be merged asĀ a newĀ foundational asset intoĀ a growing neuro-diagnostic division at AmarantusĀ calledĀ Amarantus Diagnostics. Amarantus BioScience isĀ dedicated to developing novel neurological diagnostic tests and therapy options in the fields ofĀ neurology, psychiatry, ophthalmology and regenerative diseases, including multiple…
January 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MedDay Provides Update on Pipeline Progress for Primary & Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Drug MedDay, a biotechnology company that develops new drugs for nervous system disorders, announced an update on the progress of its development pipeline with its leadĀ product MD1003 for the treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The first study is expected to be complete in early 2015, while…
January 16, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Arena Announces Encouraging MS-related Results from Autoimmune Therapy Trial Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. released the first results from itsĀ phase 1b trial that for the evaluation ofĀ an oral drug candidate called APD334Ā for the treatment ofĀ autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). TheĀ multiple ascending dose clinical trial demonstrated encouraging findings about the drug, which is designed toĀ target the sphingosine…
January 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Study Device to Improve Balance for MS Patients Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients often experience difficultyĀ with balance and fear falling, which may prevent themĀ from being social or participating in exercise and community activities, affecting their quality of life. However, a pioneering study conducted atĀ the University of Massachusetts Amherst is looking to understand the role of…
January 14, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Plegridy for Relapsing MS Now Approved in Scotland The Scottish Medicines Consortium has just approved Biogen Idec’sĀ Plegridy (peg interferonĀ beta-1a) for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in patients between 18 to 65 years old, making the Consortium the first United Kingdom-based regulatory body to endorse the disease-modifying drug on the…
January 14, 2015 News by Charles Moore Did Misdiagnosed, Maltreated MS Cause Oscar Wilde’s Wife’s Mysterious Illness & Premature Death? Irish poet, playwright,wit, design critic, and controversialist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was one of the giants of the literary scene inĀ the lateĀ Nineteenth CenturyĀ — not only in the U.K. where he lived and worked most of his life, but on the continent and in North America, which he visited twice. An international…
January 13, 2015 News by admin A Step Toward Multiple Sclerosis Treatment? Phase 2 ANTI-LINGO-1 Results Announced Biogen Idec, a Cambridge Massachusetts Biotechnology company,Ā has released results from itsĀ Phase 2 acute optic neuritis (AON) RENEW trial. The trial testedĀ anti-LINGO-1, a medication that restores myelin — a fatty substance that facilitates nerve cell impulses by wrapping around them and providing insulation. The trial results indicateĀ that anti-LINGO-1…
January 12, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD National Multiple Sclerosis Society Funds Bionure’s Optic Neuritis Treatment Research California-based, late-preclinical stage pharmaceutical company,Ā Bionure, Inc,.Ā has just announced it has signed a Sponsored Research Agreement with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, thanks to Fast Forward, a division of the Society dedicated to commercial research and development for novel solutions for multiple sclerosis (MS). According…
January 9, 2015 News by Charles Moore Takeda Submits Application For New Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Prevention Drug Glatiramer Acetate in Japan Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) announced late last month its New Drug Application (NDA) to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the multiple sclerosis relapse prevention drug glatiramer acetateĀ (active ingredient)Ā — which is sold in some marketsĀ under the trade name Copaxone. Developed by Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries…
January 8, 2015 News by admin Multiple Sclerosis Risk Does not Increase with HPV Vaccine According to Study Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination can help protect against several health problems, including cervical cancers in women. Some reports have raised concerns however, that the vaccine might actually increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. A studyĀ entitled “Quadrivalent HPV Vaccination and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis and Other…
January 7, 2015 News by Charles Moore Nova Scotia First Of Canada’s Atlantic Provinces To Fund Aubagio Treatment For Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Canada has one of the world’s highest Multiple Sclerosis (MS) prevalence rates. Some 100,000 Canadians live with the disease, and three people are newly diagnosed each day. Most people are diagnosed with relapsing MS in their twenties and thirties, and MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults…
January 6, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD RRMS Study Using MRI Reveals Benefits of Experimental Therapy in Achieving No Evidence of Disease Activity Results from aĀ Phase 3 clinical trial entitled “AVANCE” revealed promising clinical outcomes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated forĀ one year with peg interferon beta-1a. The analysis wasĀ published in the journal BMC Neurology, in a study entitled āEffect of peg interferon beta-1a on MRI measures and…
January 5, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Immunosuppressive Therapy, Cell Transplantation Offers Promising Treatment for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Immunosupressive therapy in combination with hemotopoietic cell transplant was found to induce remission of Multiple Sclerosis activity for up to 3 years. The new findings could usher in a new mode of effective treatment for MS that could greatly improve quality of life for those with the disease and…
January 2, 2015 News by Charles Moore Three Years After Stem Cell Transplant Therapy Most MS Patient Subjects Still In Remission A new study published online before print in the journal JAMA Neurology reports that three years on, most members of a small subject group of patients with active relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) who had received an experimental high-dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) followed by a transplant of their own…
December 31, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Top 14 Multiple Sclerosis Stories of ’14 Given the fact that MS isĀ aĀ chronic, progressive, and disabling disease for which there is no cure, the multiple sclerosis community is always looking forward to the latestĀ news regarding new therapies, devices or scientific findings about treating and curing the disease. TheseĀ are the top 14 news stories of 2014 from…
December 30, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New MS Study Seeks To Understand How Inflammation Causes Neuronal Damage in Multiple Sclerosis A team of researchers from Italy recently examined if p53 genetic variants influence synaptic and toxic effects of cytokines in the neurodegenerative processes that occurs in Multiple Sclerosis. The study, entitled āInterleukin-1Ī² causes excitotoxic neurodegeneration and multiple sclerosis disease progression by activating the apoptotic protein p53,ā was recently published…
December 29, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Receptos Begins RMS Patient Enrollment in SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Trials Biopharmaceutical company Receptos, Inc. is enrolling the first patient in theirĀ SUNBEAM phase 3 trial to evaluateĀ the company’s investigational therapy for the treatment ofĀ patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and ulcerative colitis (UC), calledĀ RPC1063. In addition, Receptos has recently started its phase 3Ā …
December 26, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD British Columbia Agrees To fund AUBAGIO RRMS Therapy British Columbia’sĀ PharmaCare drug program has announced thatĀ it will fundĀ AUBAGIO, a therapy developed byĀ GenzymeĀ for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.Ā AUBAGIO (teriflunomide) 14 mg has been officially added toĀ PharmaCare’s provincial formulary as a first-line oral agent for patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). As…
December 26, 2014 News by admin Long-Term Multiple Sclerosis Progress Can Be Better Determined Using NEDA Standard A study published on December 22 in JAMA Neurology emphasizes that a standard measurement used to gauge multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, known as “no-evidence-of-disease-activity” (NEDA) is important for determining how the disease will progress long-term. MS is the most common degenerative neurological condition that affects young adults worldwide.
December 23, 2014 News by admin Mouse Fat Stem Cells May Be Beneficial for Studying Transplantation in Multiple Sclerosis Researchers in Spain have found that specific fat stem cells from mice could be excellent tools for studying transplantation of stem cells in autoimmune diseases, such asĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The work was published in the December 12th issue of the journal, Stem Cell Research & Therapy. The…
December 22, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Icometrix Uses Novel Brain Measurement Software in Major MS Study Icometrix, a biotechnology company focused onĀ unique projects for diagnosing and treatingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, has designed new software for the measurement of brain lesions and brain volumes and their changes overĀ time. MS, aĀ chronic and neurological condition that affects about 2.5 million people throughoutĀ the world,Ā is often first detectedĀ in patients at…
December 19, 2014 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Mapi Pharma Treats First RRMS Patient with Once-A-Month GA Depot Mapi Pharma Ltd.,Ā a development stage pharmaceutical company specializingĀ in the development of high-barrier to entry and high-added value generic drugs, announced it has treated the first patient in theĀ Phase IIa study of GA Depot forĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Lead investigatorĀ ProfessorĀ Ariel Miller, M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Multiple Sclerosis & Brain…