February 27, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS ACTRIMS 2023: Should EBV be targeted in MS? Experts debate. A history of infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been shown to be a strong risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) — but is targeting the virus a viable strategy for MS prevention or treatment? This question was the subject of a debate, “How To…
October 11, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Circumvention Tourism, Revisited In a previous column, I wrote about circumvention tourism, in which patients travel to another country to access a medical treatment that is unavailable in their home country. I wrote it in response to someone in the MS community who promoted travel to an offshore island…
October 31, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – T-cell vs. B-cell Debate More Meeting of Minds Than ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ News commentary One particular session on Day 2 of the four-day 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting — which drew 10,000 researchers, doctors, industry representatives, and patient advocates to hear about advances in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment and understanding — attracted so much interest that all seats were taken in the…
October 26, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Researchers Disagree on Feasibility of Using Disease-modifying Therapies in RIS Patients Radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) is a rare and relatively recent condition in which people have multiple sclerosis (MS)-like brain and spinal cord lesions without showing disease activity. But since the establishment of the RIS diagnosis, researchers have not reached an agreement on whether these patients should receive MS disease-modifying therapies.
September 16, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Researchers Disagree on Feasibility of MS Bone Marrow Transplants On the second day of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2016 Congress Sept. 14-17 in London, researchers shared their views on bone marrow transplants for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The debate, “Bone marrow transplantation is a justifiable treatment for active relapsing…
September 15, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Escalation vs. Induction Treatment for Early MS Topic of Debate Two renowned multiple sclerosis (MS) specialists shared their opposing views regarding the use of escalation or induction treatment for newly diagnosed MS patients. The debate was at the Hot Topic 1 Session of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2016 Congress, now taking place in London through…
March 18, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #CONy16: Can Vitamin D Be Considered a Disease Modifier for Multiple Sclerosis? Vitamin D is crucial for our general health and it is known that it modulates immune responses. While large studies have shown that supplemental vitamin D lowers the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), not everyone is convinced. In a debate at the 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) March…
