News

Consortium of MS Centers Launches Mentorship Program

The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (FCMSC) is launching a new mentorship program dedicated to medical residents pursuing a neurology fellowship to accelerate and support their work in treating multiple sclerosis (MS). The initiative was launched at the beginning of the year and seeks to provide information on career…

Can Exercise Improve MS-Related Cognitive Problems?

Can exercise help brain function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS)? A new study suggests that it is possible. The report appeared in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. Led by Robert Motl in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at…

MS Research Australia Funds Project on MS and Epstein-Barr Virus

MS Research Australia has awarded a $150,000 grant to support a project being conducted at Murdoch University aimed at expanding scientific knowledge on the correlation between multiple sclerosis (MS) and Epstein-Barr virus infection. The research grant was awarded to David Nolan, an adjunct associate professor at the Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases (IIID),…

New Clinical Study On Attention and Memory In People With MS

A major trial to investigate different ways to deal with attention and memory problems in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients will take place at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis (CRAMMS) study will focus on these MS related symptoms…

New Imaging Technique Reveals MS Progression Related to Diffusivity in Brain

Scientists are developing new tools to understand multiple sclerosis pathogenesis and monitor the benefits of treatments. One of these tools is diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a novel technique that describes the microstructural organization of white matter tracts in the brain. Although DTI has greater pathological specificity than magnetic resonance imaging…

MS Treatment Using Stem Cells Shows Promise Compared to Medication

New research from Italy and Spain demonstrated that intense immunosuppression followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) was better than the medication mitoxantrone in treating severe cases of multiple sclerosis. The study appeared in the February 11, 2015, online issue of Neurology.  MS is characterized by an immune system attack on the…

MS Progression May Be Stopped By New Anti-inflammatory Molecule

Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the oldest research center in Australia, developed a molecule that may quell inflammation and stop the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). The molecule could eventually be used as a drug for the disease. MS is an inflammatory autoimmune disease in which the body attacks…

New MS Educational Program Seeks to Improve Care in Women

This week the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) in collaboration with The France Foundation, a provider of continuing medical education have launched a new educational program focused on the important issues that affect women with multiple sclerosis (MS), entitled, “Strategies to Improve the…

MS Patients Weigh In on Physician Conflicts of Interest in New Study

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is difficult enough for those who have it, causing damage to the nervous system, difficulty with movement, sensation, numbness, loss of vision and pain. People with MS rely on medications and the care of physicians to manage their symptoms and the progressions of the disease. But…

Can Emotional Health Influence MS Treatment Outcomes?

Emotional health is important when battling any illness, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Despite this, sometimes the benefits of emotional health are overlooked by healthcare providers. Excessive stress can lead to anxiety and depression, which increases hormones such as adrenalin and glucocorticoids that shut down the immune system. Glucocorticoids have…

Novel Switch for Autoimmune Diseases Could Play Role In MS

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists may have discovered a critical immune system switch that could affect genes involved in autoimmune diseases. The ground-breaking work, published in the journal Nature, may be useful for developing treatments for autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is characterized by an immune system…

SPMS Drug Developer Opexa Therapeutics To Receive $3M Payment from Merck Serono Under Amended Agreement

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Woodlands, Texas, has announced the successful conclusion of negotiations amending its option and license agreement with Darmstadt, Germany based pharma multinational Merck’s “Merck Serono” division. Under terms of the revised agreement, Opexa will receive a $3 million payment to…

Multiple Sclerosis Damage May be Prevented by Novel Molecules

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified new compounds that could protect from multiple sclerosis related damage, based on studies in mice with nervous system damage, mimicking MS. The study appeared in the journal Nature Neuroscience. MS is an autoimmune…

Myelin Damage Caused by MS Could be Slowed, Prevented by Protein

Image credit: Yaming Wang/Bernd Zinselmeyer A new study has shown that a protein called TREM2 may inhibit microglial repair of damaged myelin in multiple sclerosis. The study appeared in the Jan. 29 issue of Acta Neuropathologica. MS is characterized by the degeneration of myelin, a fatty…

Multiple Sclerosis Could be Treated with a Surprising Medication

An already approved medication used for bladder problems might help to treat multiple sclerosis, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lead author Fraser J. Sim, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the University at Buffalo…

Caffeine In Coffee Found To Reduce Multiple Sclerosis Risk

Coffee Drinking may confer the side-benefit of lowering the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in susceptible individuals, according to a meta-analysis of Swedish and American studies to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting to be held April 18-25, 2015 at the…