March 15, 2024 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Metabolon, Cardiff University partner for MS biomarker research Metabolon and Cardiff University are partnering to discover new biomarkers that could help better understand disease mechanisms and develop new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS). The project leverages Metabolon’s expertise in metabolomics, a field of research that measures all products of metabolism, called metabolites, that are made…
February 7, 2024 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New MRI technique allows for more precise imaging of myelin sheath Scientists have developed a technique to more precisely map the myelin sheath, the fatty covering around nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), in people undergoing an imaging scan. While further work is needed, its use “produced promising initial results,” the scientists wrote, noting that this…
January 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Synapses in CNS may be important in myelin production, per MS study Junctions between nerve cells and certain cells called oligodendrocyte precursor cells, or OPCs, in the brain and spinal cord may play an important role in producing myelin, the protective substance that’s progressively lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. OPCs are abundant in the brain and spinal…
December 12, 2023 News by Mary Chapman EU funds research consortium seeking causes of MS, treatments The European Union (EU) is providing 7.1 million euros (about $7.6 million) over five years to a global interdisciplinary consortium that seeks to identify the causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) ā with a particular focus on viruses ā and find new treatments for the disease. The “BEHIND MS”…
August 25, 2023 News by Mary Chapman Tee up with Johns Hopkins, MS4MS to raise funds toward MS fight A day of golfing is in store for those who want to support Johns Hopkins Hospital’s efforts on behalf of research for multiple sclerosis (MS) and to raise awareness about the progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The #spreadingORANGE event will aid the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center along with MS…
June 16, 2023 News by Mary Chapman 10 MS nonprofits unite on shared research strategy to find cures To address knowledge gaps and avoid duplicate efforts in the lab and in trials, 10 multiple sclerosis (MS) organizations from around the world have committed to a single global research strategy to find a cure for the progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The nonprofits, with headquarters in countries ranging from the…
February 16, 2023 News by Mary Chapman U of Manitoba researcher wins Barancik Prize for MS research University of Manitoba neurologist and investigator Ruth Ann Marrie has won the National Multiple Sclerosis Society‘s (NMSS) Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research for her landmark discoveries in multiple sclerosis (MS). Now in its 10th year, the prize recognizes and promotes innovation and originality in MS-related…
November 21, 2022 News by Mary Chapman QData MS Research Platform Aims for Better Patient Treatment, Care With a goal of betterĀ treatment and care for people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), Verana Health is developing a neurology module for disease research that includes de-identified and curated real-world data covering more than 30,000 MS patients. The digital health company is developing Qdata MS to…
June 17, 2022 News by Mary Chapman Innovative Trials, MS Society UK Collaborate on MS Research Innovative Trials has selected the MS Society UK as its charity partner for the next year, and intends to raise at least Ā£3,000 (about $3,600) to support multiple sclerosis (MS) research and the society’s quest for a world without MS. Innovative Trials works with pharmaceutical companies and…
May 6, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes We Have to Make the Effort to Care Living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is hard. I know this is hardly a revelation, especially to those of us who struggle with it on the daily, but I felt like it needed to be said. I was scanning through articles on this site recently, seeing what my fellow…
April 22, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias The High Cost of Living With MS I always knew that living with multiple sclerosis (MS) was super-expensive, but a new study is a real eye-opener. The study, published in the journal Neurology, puts the annual tab for MS in…
March 30, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS MS Society of Canada Grants Will Support 66 Research Projects The MS Society of Canada is providing thousands in funding to 66 research projects that aim to accelerate scientific understand of multiple sclerosis (MS) and to improve care for people with the disease. The society announced the winners of its 2022ā23 Annual Research Competition in four categories…
March 25, 2022 Columns by John Connor The Heel That Won’t Heal The dull throbbing always hits a crescendo “in the wee small hours,” as Mr. Sinatra ā or rather his songwriters ā so aptly put it. Iām referring to a wound thatās been with me for over a year now. True, it disappeared for a teeny while, when my heel…
February 16, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD UK MS Society Investing $1.5M in Support of 9 Research Projects The MS SocietyĀ of the U.K. intends to raise over Ā£1.1 million (about $1.5 million) to support nineĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) research projects, marking the return of the grants program it put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding will support research in the…
February 11, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias What Is Trigeminal Neuralgia in MS All About, Anyway? My immediate thought after reading a recent MS News Today headline stating that trigeminal neuralgia (TN) affects more than 3% of MS patients was, “Really, only 3%?” The reason is I’ve seen several complaints about the condition, which causes excruciating pain in the face. As the story noted, TN…
February 4, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Taking Another Look at Vitamin D, Immune Tolerance, and MS I’ve been popping vitamin D pills for years ā decades, really. I never really understood why, I just knew that many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are vitamin D-deficient. A recent study has cast some new light on why I should continue. It all seems to comes down to…
September 9, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD National MS Society Invests $8.7M in Research, Clinical Trial Training The National Multiple Sclerosis Society invested more than $8.7 million over the summer to support 29 new training fellowships, early career researchĀ awards, and other initiatives aiming to advance multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) research and care. Awarded research projects align with the societyāsĀ Pathways to Cures Roadmap: stopping disease activity and…
August 11, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD Nurse With MS Wins Grant to Find Severity, Progression Biomarkers A nurse and PhD candidate with multiple sclerosis (MS) is looking for disease biomarkers that can help healthcare providers better estimate how individual cases of MS will progress. The goal of Stephanie Buxhoeveden’s research, now supported by a grant from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), is…
July 2, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD UCL Neurologist Wins 2021 Charcot Award for Efforts in MS Research Alan Thompson, dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences at University College London (UCL), has won the 2021Ā Charcot Award, a prize given once every two years for a lifetime of achievement in research into the understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). āThe Charcot Award is viewed by…
January 29, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Don’t Jump to Conclusions Over a Breakthrough MS Vaccine Just Yet A medical website’s headline screamed, “Breakthrough Multiple Sclerosis Vaccine Shows Impressive Results In Study.” TheĀ New York Daily News joined in, highlighting a potential “breakthrough” vaccine. Other media outlets also were using similar adjectives earlier this month. Unfortunately, it’s normal media hype. I suspect some of it was was…
November 13, 2020 Columns by John Connor Of Mice and Men (and MS Research) The other day, I was watching an arts documentary instead of another repeat of a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was about John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” of which I’m a fan. The headline for a column I’d been mulling for some time about MS mouse research…
July 17, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD National MS Society Invests $16M in Disease Research, Physician Training The National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ announced investments of more than $16 million to support 50 new multi-year research projects and training fellowships addressing multiple sclerosis (MS). This latest series of investments, made over the spring, raised to $65 million total global research funding by the society. Although the…
June 6, 2019 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Consortium for a Cure: Witnessing Hope Our emotional selves are unique to each of us. The catalysts that elicit tears and fears vary. We feel emotions rise and await their eruption. Contrarily, they can catch us off guard. Sometimes a seemingly benign stimulus can invoke strong feelings. I should know better than to assume that anything…
February 1, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Minority Engagement in MS Research Engaging all types of people for research isnāt just a nice thought. It is critical to obtaining research results that will be meaningful. Middle-aged white women are often the people who volunteer for studies. Men, young people, and most significantly, people of color, lack representation in studies. According…
December 15, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Cambridge Researcher Wins 2017 Barancik Prize for Pioneering Work on Myelin Repair A University of Cambridge researcher, Robin Franklin, has been awarded the 2017 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research for his work on myelin repair and as a potential way of treatingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). Franklin is a senior scientist at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell…
October 5, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Discovering MS Research When talking about MS research, we tend to focus on drug development because improved therapies, and even the cure for MS, will come from pharmaceuticals. But what do we know about other MS research that doesnāt involve taking a pill or enduring an injection? Iām talking about those…
August 28, 2017 News by Larry Luxner Minnesota Mom with Multiple Sclerosis Plunges into Twin Cities MuckFest Beth Kantor, 42, now knows what it really means to get down in the dirt. For the past four years, sheās volunteered as a first-aid assistant at the annual Twin Cities MuckFest, a fundraising event that theĀ National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ organized in suburban Minneapolis. But this year, Kantor decided it…
August 8, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD There is a Shortage of Anatomical Donation of MS Brains Multiple sclerosis damages human brains, so MS researchers often study mice brains. How can multiple sclerosis be cured or prevented without studies of human brains? Researchers need the anatomical bequests of MS brains. Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center Harvard University specifically collects and studies brains (and brain tissue),…
August 3, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski The Importance of Patients Having a Voice in MS Research I recently spent time at the annual meeting of theĀ Drug Information AssociationĀ (DIA), listening to presentations and talking with industry representatives about the multiple sclerosis community’s needs. DIA is a nonprofit association that has been around more than 50 years. Their primary interest is the development of healthcare…
July 27, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Got Questions? iConquerMS Seeks Answers If youāve followed my writing, you already know I am committed to advancing patient-centered research and care. I am the lead patient representative and co-principal investigator for iConquerMS. One of the main goals of iConquerMS is to elevate the voice of people with MS into research. How do…