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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…

A new report was recently released outlining researchers’ ongoing goals and focus points for advancing MS drug development and treatment options. “Multiple Sclerosis Management – A Changing Landscape 2013” is the result of a meeting held in Vienna, Austria in April of 2013 that brought together 372…

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 wasn’t as effective on the subgroups of MS patients to whom physical activity is more important, reports John Gever…

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…

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…

Cambridge, Mass. Based Genzyme, a Sanofi subsidiary, announced May 30 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the company’s 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).

The network of nationally recognized Multiple Sclerosis centers continues to grow throughout the United States. Recently, the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at University of Texas (UT) Medicine San Antonio was selected as the new Multiple Sclerosis Partner in Care, a recognition granted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The new…

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,…

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a drug development company with a viable Multiple Sclerosis drug called H.P. Acthar® 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…

Pharmaceutical company Novartis and health tracking and analytics platform Tictrac recently partnered up to support 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…

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…

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 self™ mobile app designed for patients with multiple sclerosis.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency 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…

The Food and Drug Administration granted Orphan Drug Designation to Inhibikase Therapeutics’, Inc. 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…

Cambridge, Massachusetts based biotech firm Genzyme has formed a new research collaboration with Cleveland Clinic of Cleveland, Ohio with a focus on developing new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). More than 2.3 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with MS, including what is believed…

New classes of pharmaceutical agents tailored to fight autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, may be identified more effectively by adding genome analysis to standard drug screening, according to results of a new study by a collaborative research team led by UC San Francisco and…

Researchers from the Kessler Foundation have found that higher educational achievement reduces the negative impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on cognitive status. The study appeared in Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. It was reported in the study that cognitive ability after experiencing TBI differs in individuals even when their injury levels were comparable. As…

Steve Pepple / Shutterstock.com The 2012 state ballot approvals of marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington has been a catalyst for stirring the pot, so to speak, on a wide range of issues and nuances related to the herb — not least marijuana’s clinical use as a…