Columns The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Epstein-Barr, UTI Factors, New Myelin Imaging Agent, Nerve Impulses and Demyelination MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Epstein-Barr, UTI Factors, New Myelin Imaging Agent, Nerve Impulses and Demyelination by Ed Tobias | February 3, 2020 Share this article: Share article via email Copy article link Epstein-Barr Virus and Certain Genes Interact in Ways That Can Promote MS, Study Finds Much has been written over the years about a possible connection between the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. Here’s further evidence of a link that has to do with how particular genes interact with the immune system. Interaction between various Epstein-Barr virus traits and the composition of certain genes affects the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. The study, āThe interaction of Multiple Sclerosis risk loci with Epstein-Barr virus phenotypes implicates the virus in pathogenesis,ā was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. Click here to read the full story. *** Multiple Factors Influence the Prevalence of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in MS Patients, Study Indicates One subject I see discussed a lot in online MS patient groups is bladder problems. That’s no surprise to me. In this study of 602 MS patients, 88 percent of the women and 86 percent of the men reported lower urinary tract symptoms. I’m one of that number, and I bet you are, too. Age, gender, disease subtype, degree of disability, and more factors affect lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā Also, the epidemiology of LUTS must be better understood and promptly detected and treated to improve patientsā quality of life. Those findings are detailed in a new study,Ā āThe prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms based on individual and clinical parameters in patients with multiple sclerosis,ā which was published recently in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Neurology. Click here to read the full story. *** New Imaging Agent of Myelin for Earlier MS Diagnosis, Myeliviz, Entering Clinical Testing I’m excited about the possibility of a process that would allow a doctor to see the areas of myelin loss. A PET scan uses a machine similar to that of an MRI. This new imaging agent would be injected into the blood during a PET scan, similarly to the way a contrast agent is injected during some MRIs. Researchers believe that Myeliviz will highlight areas of myelin loss the way the MRI contrast agent lights up lesions. TheĀ U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationĀ (FDA)Ā has agreed to allow Myeliviz, an imaging agent of myelin ā the protective layer that covers nerve fibers and isĀ damaged inĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) ā to be evaluated in a clinical trial with healthy volunteers. Myeliviz, created byĀ Case Western Reserve UniversityĀ researchers, has the potential to be used in diagnosing MS, as well as other myelin-associated diseases, and in monitoring disease progression. Click here to read the full story. *** New Research Shows How Nerve Impulses Travel, May Offer Insights to Effects of MS Demyelination Here’s something else that may help us to battle myelin damage. These researchers have found that nerve impulses may not only travel along nerve fibers, they also may be transmitted in the space between the insulating myelin and the nerve cell membrane. Nerve impulses travel in a ādual cableā with myelin, playing additional roles to what was previously thought, new research has found. This discovery advances human knowledge of how brain connections work and may help scientists understand more accurately what happens when myelin is lost ā which is what occurs in diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The study reporting the findings, titled āSaltatory Conduction along Myelinated Axons Involves a Periaxonal Nanocircuit,ā was published in the journal Cell. Click here to read the full story. *** Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Multiple Sclerosis News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to multiple sclerosis. Print This Page About the Author Ed Tobias People say to write what you know and Ed Tobias knows about MS. He's lived with the illness since 1980, when he was 32 years old. Ed's a retired, award-winning broadcast journalist and his column combines his four decades of MS experiences with news and comments about the latest in the MS community. In addition to writing his column, Ed is one of the patient moderators on the MS News Today Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram sites. Heās also the author of āThe Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox: Hints and Tips for Living with M.S.ā Ed and his wife split their time between the Washington, D.C. suburbs and Floridaās Gulf Coast, trying to follow the sun. Tags demyelination, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary tract infection (UTI) Comments Leave a comment Fill in the required fields to post. Your email address will not be published. Your Name Your Email Your Comment Post Comment
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