Roll up, roll up, for all the fun of the fare! I swallow an awful lot of supplements. Have I also swallowed the barkers’ patter? I don’t think so. But I’m more than aware that if something works on mice, then the chances of it working on me are likely…

Early Use of High-efficacy DMTs of Long-term Benefit to MS Patients, Real-world Study Reports The question of whether to start treating multiple sclerosis (MS) with an older, less effective disease-modifying therapy (DMT) and then move to a more effective one — or use a heavy-hitting medication right…

A clinical trial to test the effects of antioxidant treatment with lipoic acid on progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is recruiting 118 participants at seven sites in North America. The study sites include: Birmingham, Alabama; Burlington, Vermont;  Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington; Washington, D.C., and;…

MS Patients Report Beneficial Effects of Cannabis with Few Side Effects, Survey Shows This survey agrees with what I’ve found in my limited experience with cannabis (in my case, CBD oil). A small amount can ease some of my spasticity and help me to get a better…

Lipoic acid (LA), an over-the-counter antioxidant supplement, helps to mildly delay a decline in walking speed in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients, particularly those with lesser disability, analysis of a small, two-year clinical study reports. No improvements were seen in balance among…

In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. Younger MS Patients Who Are Hospitalized May Be at Higher Risk of Quitting Treatment, Study Reports   Why would young patients, whose MS is…

The over-the-counter antioxidant lipoic acid slowed brain deterioration in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to a pilot study. An Oregon Health & Science University research team conducted the study, “Lipoic acid in secondary progressive MS.” It was published in the journal Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation. A hallmark…

Here’s my Pick of this Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. This week is a rather special one because it spotlights the work done by our news team in following and reporting the major events at ECTRIMS 2016. Here, I set out my choice of what I…

A pilot study exploring the antioxidant lipoic acid in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) demonstrated that treatment for two years reduced the speed of brain tissue loss and improved the patients’ walking speed. The surprising finding was presented during the “New directions in progressive MS research”…