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…
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 this…
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,…
May 30, 2014 News by BioNews Staff MS Views & News Awards Questcor With “Recognition of Appreciation” Award Multiple Sclerosis Advocacy Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a drug development company with a viable Multiple Sclerosis drug called H.P. ActharĀ® Gel, which is currently approved in the U.S. by the FDA for the treatment of acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis in adults. However, in addition to developing and commercializing MS therapies, the…
May 29, 2014 News by admin Novartis And Tictrac Raise Awareness For MS With Health Tracking Challenge Pharmaceutical company Novartis and health tracking and analytics platform TictracĀ recently partnered up to supportĀ World Multiple Sclerosis Day and raise awareness for this disease by launching the campaign The 7-Day Challenge to Live Like You. The challenge, one of the first integrations of emerging technological trends by a pharmaceutical…
May 28, 2014 News by Charles Moore Study Finds MS Drug Gilenya May Point To Development Of New PTSD Therapy A new study on mice published in Nature Neuroscience finds that fingolimod (Novartis brand name Gilenya) a first-in-class sphingosine-1-phosphate-receptor modulator currently used in treating persons with severe relapsing remitting MS, may also have therapeutic value in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Nature Neuroscience study is titled…
May 27, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Acorda Therapeutics’ Online Multiple Sclerosis Resources To Be Demonstrated in Dallas At the 2014 Cooperative Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis on May 28-31 in Dallas, Acorda Therapeutics will be demonstrating its award-winning MS selfā¢ mobile app designed for patients with multiple sclerosis.
May 27, 2014 News by admin Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use Adopts Positive Opinion For Plegridy As a Treatment for MS In The European Union TheĀ CommitteeĀ for Medicinal Products for Human UseĀ (CHMP) of the European Medicines AgencyĀ recently offered a positive opinion for the marketing authorization of Biogen Idec’s Plegridy therapy, a pegylated interferon administered subcutaneously for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The positive opinion will now be sent to the European Commission, which grants…
May 22, 2014 News by Maureen Newman Orphan Drug Designation Granted to Treatment for Rare Multiple Sclerosis Drug Complication The Food and Drug Administration granted Orphan Drug Designation to Inhibikase Therapeutics’, Inc.Ā lead product, IkT-001Pro (imatinib), to treat progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PML affects the white matter of the brain usually through a virus known as Polyomavirus JC (JC…