News

Bike MS, a two-day ride between Westminster and Fort Collins, in Colorado, raised $3.8 million to support the multiple sclerosis (MS) research, thanks to the help of over 3,000 riders, volunteers, and advocates. Bikers started the journey last Saturday and rode back to Westminster Sunday morning. The money raised, from…

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) initiated a clinical trial to evaluate the antihistamine clemastine fumarate, manufactured by Novartis as Tavist, for its efficacy in treating multiple sclerosis patients. The laboratory of Dr. Jonah Chan, a professor of neurology at UCSF, used a high-throughput method to identify Tavist…

The main costs of care for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients continue to be driven predominantly by common MS “sequelae” — a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease or injury — according to a recent study from the BMC Health Services Research. However, in spite of cost drivers remaining steady,…

The Republic of Ireland is legalizing the medical prescription of cannabis for people with Multiple Sclerosis, under a new revision to current Irish laws. The Irish Mirror reports that Pat O’Mahony, CEO of Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) confirmed July 7 that the Department of Health is…

An Everyday Health blog by New Jersey-based husband and wife team Brad and Robynn Mann notes that more time spent outdoors during the warmer months means more potential encounters with insects that can be disease vectors, notably mosquitos and ticks. Mr. Mann, who is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS),…

Stem therapy to treat multiple sclerosis may benefit greatly from a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by the laboratory of Fraser Sim, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at University of Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr.

Tracking patients’ progress is a critical part of MS management, a process that can benefit from greater objective analysis. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have determined that tablet computers, which feature built-in technologies like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and touchscreens, when combined with appropriate software, can provide pretty good MS assessment capabilities.

Lemtrada, a drug produced by Genzyme for the treatment of adult patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with active disease, was approved by Argentina’s National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT). “We are pleased by the continued global support for Lemtrada,” said Genzyme…

Acorda Therapeutics recently announced receiving a notice letter from pharmaceutical company Actavis Plc indicating their plans to commercialize a generic version of Ampyra, Acorda’s multiple sclerosis treatment drug. Acorda claims that Actavis submitted a marketing approval application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking permission to develop and commercialize a new drug,…

Fatigue, a common symptom of multiple sclerosis, could be a result of regional damage in the brain. A study published in Radiology by a group in Italy led by Massimo Filippi, MD, from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University showed that local, rather than global, atrophy is associated with fatigue.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is accepting submissions for the first edition of the Marilyn Hilton Award for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research, which will support novel 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…

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…

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche 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…

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…

Australian biotechnology company 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…

Group exercise could be very beneficial in improving the health of multiple sclerosis patients, according to Sheila Lennon, Physiotherapy Professor from Flinders University, in Adelaide, Australia. Lennon is the creator of a new training manual for clinicians, as she advocates the need for regular and ongoing physiotherapy in the public health system.

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…

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.

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…

Recently launched by the non-profit Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF), 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…

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 the Riverside Medical Clinic that reviewed 73 MS patients. It was already known that the drug could cause the condition, however the rate is higher…

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…

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,…

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…

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 “Depression in MS: Is brain imaging helpful?” at this…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…