March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month. That means we need to make the most of these four weeks to raise some money for research, and raise awareness about the disease and the 2.5 million people in the world currently living with it. What’s the best way…

The potential approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) this month supports the idea that, someday, a world free of multiple sclerosis (MS) is possible, according to Dr. Tim Coetzee, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s chief advocacy, services and research officer. While Coetzee — and the society he represents — realize the potential of…

Here is a transcript of Multiple Sclerosis News Today‘s interview with Dr. Tim Coetzee — chief advocacy, services and research officer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society — about the importance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s awaited decision on Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), and the other ongoing research. Tim…

Here is my Pick of the Week’s News, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today. ‘Liberation Therapy’ Is Useless, Costly, Potentially Dangerous, Study Finds At last, some positive research to debunk a supposed treatment that is not supported by any genuine repeatable research. To hear this ridiculous…

As Republicans in Congress prepare to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and 10 other nonpartisan patient groups are urging lawmakers in Washington to keep health insurance affordable, accessible, adequate and understandable for all Americans. The 11 organizations will evaluate all proposed changes to the…

It’s a question that nearly every MS patient faces. When do I tell my children about my multiple sclerosis, and what’s the best way to do it? In early January I wrote a column about sharing an MS diagnosis. It was prompted by a reader who had told…

Browsing through some multiple sclerosis Facebook groups the other day I was reminded of the line from the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” These posts jumped out at me: So when my neuro says he wants me to…

A newly concluded clinical trial gives scientific evidence of the benefits that a stem cell transplant holds for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who fail to respond to medications — with researchers calling the procedure a reasonable option for those with high disease activity. Five years after the treatment — high-dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous hematopoietic cell transplant — further disease…

The University of Saskatchewan‘s incoming Chair in Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Research will have a research endowment worth $8.4 million to help him search for a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The school has recruited Michael Levin, MD, an experienced MS researcher, to lead the program for a seven-year term that will begin…

Two Cleveland Clinic researchers were awarded multi-year grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under its Outstanding Investigator Award, to find new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other complex diseases. Bruce Trapp, PhD, an expert in myelin biology and MS, will receive about $7 million over eight years under the…

Certain cannabinoids reduce spasticity symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a report  from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that scrutinized published research about the benefits and hazards of cannabis and cannabinoid use. Cannabinoids also show proven effect in other areas that may be important to MS patients, but they are linked…

Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Sanofi, ImmuNext Partner to Develop Antibody to Treat Range of Autoimmune Diseases Big news on the business front is the alliance of two companies, Sanofi and ImmuNext, that have announced an agreement…

Three researchers who discovered regulatory T-cells and their role in autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), have been awarded the Crafoord Prize by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The scientists — Shimon Sakaguchi, Fred Ramsdell, and Alexander Rudensky — are credited with advancing understanding of how the body…

Compugen has reported new and promising results from studies on animal models of multiple sclerosis (MS) that support its lead drug candidate, CGEN-15001, as a potential treatment for a variety of autoimmune diseases, including MS. Specifically, CGEN-15001 was shown to restore immune tolerance and balance in a durable and sustained manner in treated…

Phoebe Scopes was the first international patient to receive Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) therapy for multiple sclerosis in Moscow. In this fourth, and last, part of her story, we join Phoebe on her return home to the London. Ian: What is your post-HSCT MS state from getting home…

Recently published data from three Phase 3 trials of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) show that the investigational drug does what no other therapy has achieved so far — working to prevent disease in both relapsing and primary progressive (PP) forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Publications in the New England Journal…

I was thinking of writing about another subject a few days ago and then, as usual, life happened. I learned of the passing of a former colleague recently. I did not know her well, but her spirit was infectious. She had been fighting colorectal cancer for 12 years. As…

Nine research teams at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech will be awarded grants totaling $550,000 for studies addressing issues related to brain development and brain function in health and disease. Among the university-funded projects receiving between $50,000 and $70,000 each is research into potential new treatments for multiple sclerosis. “We are planting seeds that…

Scientists unraveled the 3-D structure of a key receptor linked to inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) — the CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) receptor — when it is bound to two inhibitor molecules simultaneously. This potentially important finding, which allows scientists to see how these molecules fit together, could aid in developing better therapeutics that…

Here is my Pick of the Week’s news, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today. UV Light May Lead Way to New Treatment for MS and Inflammation Now this might be exciting, if turns out that ultraviolet light can truly be the basis of new treatments that…

I love it when the sun is shining. I spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer, despite the impact of the heat on my multiple sclerosis. I love the warmth and the brightness. So, I lather up with sunscreen and I figure that, at least for me,…

Researchers have found a way to harness inflammation with the help of ultraviolet (UV) light, making it possible to design an anti-inflammatory treatment that is more specific and causes fewer side effects. If this approach can be developed for clinical treatment, it likely will have a large impact on the lives of people with…

This is my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. New Company Specializing in Stem Cell Platform for MS and Other Ills Raises $48.5M A news story about a new company raising nearly $50 million to further develop stem cell transplants that…

Sutter Health, a not-for-profit healthcare network serving more than 100 northern California communities, has been awarded $1.2 million by the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) to support patients living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and help improve how health matters are targeted and treated across the entire state.

Palliative care helps to ease the symptoms of serious illnesses, providing people with cancer and those with other life-altering diseases, like multiple sclerosis (MS) or cystic fibrosis, a better quality of life, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the study, “Association Between Palliative Care And Patient…

A recent study published in Nature Communications showed, for the first time, that a protein complex called LUBAC is responsible for controlling the late-stage development of immune T-cells before they are released into the bloodstream. Several types of cells compose the immune system, working together to fight infections or cancer.

Dr. Rebecca Coll, a young researcher at the University of Queensland Institute of Molecular Bioscience, won the 2016 Research Australia Discovery Award for her work in identifying promising anti-inflammatory compounds that are able to block the NLRP3 inflammasome — a key driver of inflammation. The discovery could greatly benefit patients with inflammatory diseases,…

Magenta Therapeutics has completed its first round of financing, raising $48.5 million to develop ways of bringing bone marrow stem cell transplants to more patients with autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), among other illnesses. The new company aims to develop the first complete platform that can overcome the challenges in stem cell transplants,…