May 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Community Celebrates World MS Day World MS Day is celebrated onĀ May 27 as a day dedicated to thoseĀ who suffer fromĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to mark the occasion, organizations, companies, advocates, and communities are hosting events throughout the worldĀ to share inspiring stories, raise awareness about the disease and campaign to support both patients…
May 27, 2015 News by admin l-Carnitine Not Effective For Depression and Chronic Fatigue in MS and Neuromyelitis Optica A new study confirmed that depression and chronic fatigue often occur in multiple sclerosis (MS); and in a related condition known asĀ neuromyelitis optica (NMO).Ā NMO is similar to MS because myelin–the fatty substance that insulates nerve cells and helps them to communicate–is also lost. In NMO the myelin deteriorates mostly…
May 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Identify Potential Cause of Multiple Sclerosis Movement, Balance Problems Researchers inĀ the Department of Immunology at St. Jude Childrenās Research Hospital in Memphis were able to identify a faulty ābrakeā in immune cells which may be involved in theĀ inflammation triggering multiple sclerosis (MS). This brake is believed to be able to control inflammation, offeringĀ the potential for the development of new…
May 21, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Potential Therapeutic Strategy to Halt Disease Progression in Multiple Sclerosis Developed A new study recently published in the journal Annals of Neurology revealed a potential new therapeutic strategy to halt multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression. The study is entitled āMelanoma cell adhesion moleculeāpositive CD8 T lymphocytes mediate central nervous system inflammationā and was led by…
May 18, 2015 News by admin Gut Bacteria: Key to MS? There has been a great deal of recent interest in the connection between nervous system function and the complex bacteria that are found in the gastrointestinal system, known as the gut microbiome. Some scientists believe that differences in the type of bacteria found in the gut mayĀ underlie neurological disease. In…
May 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Yale and MIT Researchers Discover a Key Immune Difference in Multiple Sclerosis Patients A new study recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine revealed a key difference in immune T cells between multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy individuals. The study is entitled āFunctional inflammatory profiles distinguish myelin-reactive T cells from patients with multiple sclerosisā and…
May 11, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Oral Drugs May Reduce Preference for Injectable Drugs in Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Frost & SullivanĀ recently publishedĀ a report entitled āA Product and Pipeline Analysis of the Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics Marketā providing insight into the global multiple sclerosis (MS) drug market. In this report, a competitive evaluation of MS pharmaceutical drugs currently available in the market and experimental drugs in…
May 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Student Changes Life Plans to Help Others with MS Just like any student, Stephanie Butler was excited to start working, in her case as a nurse, when she beganĀ experiencing numbness in herĀ limbs and lost sensation below the waist. It was the first time the student nurse was goingĀ to administer anesthesia to a patient, three years ago, when after a…
May 6, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD FDA Evaluates ZINBRYTA For MS Treatment The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it willĀ considerĀ marketing approval ofĀ ZINBRYTA (daclizumab high-yield process), a potential treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Biogen and AbbVie, who are jointly developing the therapy, have filed aĀ Biologics License Application…
May 6, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MSAA Publishes 2015 MS Research Updates for Multiple Sclerosis Management The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) recently publishedĀ the latest MS Research Update both printed and online atĀ mymsaa.org. This update is a comprehensive overview ofĀ research findings on FDA-approved disease-modifying therapies, as well as many experimental treatments for relapsing forms of…
May 5, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Promising New Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis Based on Placenta Cells A study published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, led by researchers at Mount SinaiĀ in New York and Celgene Cellular TherapeuticsĀ revealed that an infusion based on cells derived from the placenta proved to be safe for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a…
May 1, 2015 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD GM-CSF Cytokine Production Contributes to Multiple Sclerosis Development In a recent study entitled āExpression of GM-CSF in T Cells Is Increased in Multiple Sclerosis and Suppressed by IFN-Ī² Therapy,ā researchers unraveled a key role for theĀ cytokine GM-CSFĀ in multiple sclerosis progression, suggesting GM-CSF asĀ a target of IFN-Ī² therapy. The study was published in…
April 30, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Society To Invest Ā£2 million in Edinburgh Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research The MS Society recently announced it will invest Ā£2 million intoĀ the Edinburgh Centre for MS Research. This fundingĀ will support the research work of a team of about fifteen world-leading research experts from the University of Edinburgh. The team co-directed by Professors Siddharthan Chandran and Charles ffrench-Constant will continue their…
April 29, 2015 News by admin Can Suppressing a Protein Associated With Good Health Help Treat MS? Gladstone Institutes scientists have discoveredĀ a successful new treatment that could potentially be used in multiple sclerosis (MS). The treatment involves suppressing a protein that traditionally is associated with overall good health. The study,Ā SIRT1 Deacetylates RORĪ³t and Enhances Th17 Cell Generation, appeared April 27, 2015 in theĀ Journal…
April 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Views and News to Host Educational Patient Programs in May MS Views and News (MSVN), aĀ non-profit organization focused on collecting and distributing information aboutĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), is hosting a series of educational patient programs and events during the month of May. The events have different themes,Ā but are all focused on the management of MS, includingĀ medication, avoiding…
April 24, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Actelion to Accelerate Clinical Trials For Experimental Therapy That Treats MS, Other Autoimmune Diseases Actelion Pharma recently announced that it will accelerate the launchĀ of clinical trials involving its lead drug candidateĀ ponesimod, an oral, selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P1). This decision came after a group of scientists working on different phases of clinical trials for the therapy observedĀ mostly positive effects of ponesimod in terms of efficacy, efficiency…
April 23, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD NYU Langone Researchers Report What Happens When Multiple Sclerosis Patients Abandon Treatment A team led by researchers at the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center recently assessed what happens when clinically stable patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) stop taking their medication and found that almost 40% of them experience to some extent a return in disease activity and related symptoms. The…
April 23, 2015 News by admin Phase III Study of Experimental MS Therapy Meets Primary Endpoint, Results to be Presented at ANN Meeting MedDay, a French biotechnology company that studies treatments for nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis, announced that MD1003, a highly-concentrated biotin, is effective forĀ treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis, according to results from a recent Phase III trial. MD1003 may have two beneficial effects: 1) increasing myelin, the fatty nerve-insulating…
April 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Experts Join New Medical Advisory Board at MS Views & News The non-profit organization MS Views and News (MSVN) has invited two health care experts on multiple sclerosis (MS) to joinĀ their new medical advisory board.Ā Brian Steingo, MD andĀ Patricia Pagnotta, MSN, ARNP-C willĀ co-chair the new board to assist the organization with its mission of offering the…
April 22, 2015 News by admin Two Already-Approved Medications Could Treat MS Two already available medicationsĀ could be used to treatĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). In a newĀ study titled, “Drug Based Modulation of Endogenous Stem Cells,” published in the journal NatureĀ on April 20, 2015, scientists report that twoĀ drugs couldĀ activate stem cells in the brain, possibly repairing MS-induced damage to…
April 17, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genetic Variants Found to Play a Role in Antibody Production and Disease Severity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Dr. Jose Ćlvarez-CermeƱo and Dr. Luisa Villar from Instituto RamĆ³n y Cajal de InvestigaciĆ³n SanitariaĀ in Madrid, Spain recently published in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology a review on the work developed by Dr. An Goris and colleagues on the link between genetic factors and multiple sclerosis…
April 16, 2015 News by admin Co-existing MS and FM Influences Pain Threshold, According to New Study People with multiple sclerosis (MS) commonly experience a low pain threshold and sensitivity to heat and cold. If a person has multiple sclerosis along with fibromyalgia (FM), that could make this sensitivity even more intense. Until now, no group has studied this phenomenon. In a study titled “…
April 16, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Experimental Drug Appears to Repair Nerve Damage in Multiple Sclerosis Patients The American Academy of Neurology (AAN)Ā recently announced the results of a new study that evaluated an experimental drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) with the potential to repair damaged myelin layers, a fatty material that covers and protects neurons. These findings will be presented at the 67th AAN Annual Meeting,…
April 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Beta-Interferon Therapy Has No Effect on Secondary Progressive MS Onset According to Study A team led by researchers at the University of British ColumbiaĀ in Canada recently published results in the European Journal of NeurologyĀ showing thatĀ treatment with beta-interferon has no effect on secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) disease onset. The study is entitled āBeta-interferon exposure and…
April 14, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) Might be Affected by Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis A team of Kessler Foundation researchers recently published their findings onĀ the MEMREHAB trial, whereby treatment with the modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) may be affected by cognitive dysfunction. The study entitled āThe influence of cognitive dysfunction on benefit from learning and memory rehabilitation in MS:…
April 13, 2015 News by admin Biogen to Focus on RRMS Disease Management, Treatment at Upcoming Conference Biogen plans toĀ present new clinical data at the 67th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., April 18 ā 25, 2015, including numerous presentations focusing on multiple sclerosis. Ā In a company press release, Biogen statedĀ āAt AAN, we will feature new scientific data, including research highlighting the…
April 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD National MS Society Announces $28 Million Funding For Research TheĀ National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announcedĀ it willĀ grantĀ $28 million to 84 new research projects and training awards focusedĀ on multiple sclerosis (MS). The new financial support is included in the society’s comprehensive research strategy, which was designed to not only endĀ MS, but also restore patients’…
April 8, 2015 News by Isaura Santos Multiple Sclerosis Patients Could One Day Benefit From Brain Boost Study A recent study suggests that in the futureĀ multiple sclerosis patients could benefit from treatments intendedĀ to boost their brain function. The study was published inĀ Nature NeuroscienceĀ and receivedĀ funding fromĀ The Wellcome Trust, the Lister Research Prize and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. According to researchers, patients…
April 7, 2015 News by admin Wellness for People with MS Outlined in New Paper From the National MS Society The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society recently released a recent paper on wellness titled “Wellness for People with MS: What do we know about Diet, Exercise and Mood And what do we still need to learn?“ The paper focuses on how wellness can be achieved by…
April 7, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Consortium of MS Centers Launches Mentorship Program The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (FCMSC) is launching aĀ new mentorship program dedicated to medical residents pursuing a neurology fellowship to accelerateĀ and support their work in treatingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The initiative was launched atĀ the beginning of the year and seeksĀ to provide information on career…