April 4, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS CMSC Announces Technology Contests to Improve MS Patients’ Quality Of Life TheĀ Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) announced two contests that will be featured at itsĀ Annual Meeting, May 28āJune 1 in Seattle, Washington. The contests, calledĀ āDesign for Rehabilitation ā Take the Challenge” and “CMSC Neuroinnovator,ā are aimed at creating new technologies to improve the quality of…
March 1, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein #ACTRIMS2019 ā Health-related Quality of Life in MS Patients Linked to Comorbidities There is a need for better diagnosis and treatment management of comorbidities ā simultaneously occurring disorders ā in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), as shown by the impact these additional health issues have on patientsā health-related quality of life, according to a new report. The data was presented by Lara…
February 20, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein Vitamin B12, Folic Acid Supplements Yield Multiple Benefits for MS Patients Vitamins B12 and B9 (folic acid) supplements can lower levels of homocysteine (a common amino acid), improve anemia status, and boost self-reported physical health in patients withĀ multiple sclerosis, according to new research. The study suggestsĀ a potential role for these two vitamins in improving the quality of life of MS patients. Despite treatment, MS patients often experience symptoms that interfere with their daily lives. Many patients have turned to dietary supplements with the hope they would reduce the severity of their symptoms. There is substantial literature suggesting the benefits of various supplements for MS, including vitamin B12 and folic acid. Homocysteine, of which high levels are associated with heart disease and detrimental effects in the nervous system, can be more prevalent in MS patients compared to healthy individuals. That suggests homocysteine is "one of the causative factors in the pathogenesis [development] of MS," researchers wrote. Lack of vitamin B12 ā naturally found in meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products ā can lead to a disruption in myelination, the process of forming a protective myelin coat around nerve cells. The loss of myelin is a hallmark of MS. A lack of folic acid, together with too little vitamin B12, has been linked to neurological symptom onset in MS patients. Meanwhile, vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements have shown promising results among these patients. In addition, MS patients are known to have an increased risk for the development of megaloblastic anemia ā a condition in which the bone marrow produces unusually large, immature red blood cells referred to as megaloblasts. TheĀ most common causes ofĀ megaloblastic anemia are a deficiency of either vitamin B12Ā or folic acid. Based on these observations,Ā researchers from Urmia University of Medical Sciences and Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, in Iran, studied the effects ofĀ vitamin B12Ā and folic acid supplements inĀ Ā relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)Ā patients. The team looked specifically at serum homocysteine levels, anemia status, and quality of life. This double-blinded clinical trial (IRCT2015100313678N7) enrolled 50 RRMS patients (age 20-40 years), who were divided into two groups:Ā the vitamin group, which received three doses of 1 mg vitamin B12 injection (spaced a month apart) plus 5 mg folic acid tablets daily; and theĀ placebo group, which receivedĀ neutral saline injections. All participants completed two quality-of-life questionnaires, one geared toward physical health and the other toward mental health, at the start and end of the study. Blood samples were collected from all participants, and blood pressure readings were taken. Results showed a drop in average homocysteine blood serum levels in the vitamin group, which may be indicative of an improvement in nervous system health.Ā Researchers also observed a decrease in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in the vitamin group, which is indicative of improved anemia status. At the end of the study the vitamin group showed improvements in both physical and mental fields in the quality-of-life questionnaires. However, RRMS patients in the control group (without vitamin supplements) also had an increase in the quality-of-life questionnaire for mental health, obscuring any conclusions on the effect of vitamin supplements in MS patientsā mental health. āResults of the present study have shown that homocysteine levels, anemia status, and eventually the quality of life of patients with MS can be significantly improved by administration of 1 mg of vitamin B12 monthly and adding rich-food sources of folic acid on their diet,ā the researchers wrote. The team nonetheless emphasizes that "further studies in the field of MS dietary patterns must be conducted."
February 19, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein Depression, Psychological Distress Symptoms Significantly Affect MS Patients’ Quality of Life, Study Finds Depression and psychological distress symptoms can have a huge effect on the way multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) patients view their well-being, a new study has found. Since depression and psychological distress symptoms can be targeted therapeutically, the study proposes focusing on mental health disorders in MS patients to considerably…
January 22, 2019 News by Alberto Molano, PhD Controlling Spasticity Would Greatly Improve Everyday Quality of Life, Survey Shows An international survey of caregivers and adults with neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), revealed that spasticity is a hidden burden, having a negative effect on the ability to perform everyday tasks, and that relieving its symptoms significantly improves patientsā quality of life. The survey was presented by…
January 21, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein Fatigue More Common in Progressive MS Patients, Survey Shows Fatigue is more prevalent among patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study that surveyed patients on fatigue and factors related to it. In addition, increased fatigue severity correlated with greater physical, cognitive, and psychological impairment, although the strength of this link was largely the same…
November 14, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Motor Imagery Set to Musical and Verbal Cues Helps Patients with Walking and Fatigue, Study Says Mentally rehearsing an ease of walking to rhythmic cues ā especially musical and verbal ā improves walking speed and distance, and lessens feelings of fatigue in people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. The study, āEffects and mechanisms of differently…
September 25, 2018 News by Diogo Pinto With Age, Depression Lessens and Quality of Life Improves in MS Patients, Researchers Report A recent study found that elder individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience significantly less severe depressive symptoms and better quality of life than their younger counterparts. The research, āSubjective well-being differs with age in multiple sclerosis: A brief report,ā was published in the journal Rehabilitation Psychology.
September 10, 2018 News by Janet Stewart, MSc MS in Child Considerably Affects Quality of Life for Family, Study Reports Parents of children withĀ pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) report a lower overall quality of life than those whose kids have a condition marked by demyelination but is not a chronic disease, a study reports. The lifelong nature of MS makes all the difference, it said. MonoADS, like MS, is caused by…
August 29, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Poor Sleep Common in MS, Linked to Fatigue, Depression, and Anxiety, Study Reports Poor sleep quality is very common among patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), and is associated with a lower quality of life, and greater fatigue, depression and anxiety, according to a real-world study in patients treated with Betaferon (interferon beta-1b). The study, ā…
August 22, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Swallowing Problems Lower Multiple Sclerosis Patients’ Quality of Life Dysphagia, or problems with swallowing, is common in patients with multiple sclerosis and significantly reduces their quality of life, according to a new Australian study. Symptoms such as coughing and choking, and mental health issues related to eating or drinking, are common in this patient population, the data show.
August 2, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Multiple Sclerosis Patients Identify Symptoms that Worsen Quality of Life Loss of health-related quality of life is caused mostly by balance problems, muscle stiffness, and depression in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),Ā and for those with progressive MS, the causes are muscle rigidity, paralysis, weakness, and pain, according toĀ a…
July 26, 2018 News by Diogo Pinto Brain Changes in CIS Patients May Be to Blame for Depression, Reduced Quality of Life, Study Suggests Changes in the brains of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), the first clinical presentation of multiple sclerosis (MS), may be partly responsible for depressive symptoms and reduced quality of life in these patients, a study shows. The study with that finding, āHealth-related quality of life, neuropsychiatric…
July 20, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Tysabri Treatment Lessens Sexual Dysfunction in MS Patients, Study Finds Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab)Ā can help lessen sexual dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. The study, āPatient perceived changes in sexual dysfunction after initiation of natalizumab for multiple sclerosis,ā was published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal ā Experimental, Translational and Clinical. MS is…
July 10, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc RRMS Patients Show High Levels of Satisfaction and Adherence to Gilenya Over 2 Years in Danish Study People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Denmark show high rates of adherence to treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod), and give the therapy high marks in terms of satisfaction and quality of life, a long-term study of its use by RRMS patients reports. The study, āHigh treatment adherence, satisfaction, motivation,…
May 31, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Individual Temperament Can Affect Health-Related Quality of Life of MS Patients, Study Shows The temperament of patients with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) can have a significant impact on their health-related quality of life, a study suggests. The study, āHealth-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: temperament outweighs EDSS,ā was published in the journal BMC Psychiatry. MS patients’s quality of life…
May 29, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc MS Patients Generally Able to Maintain Healthy Lifestyle Changes, Study Shows In general, multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are able to make and sustainĀ healthy lifestyle changes associated with a better quality of life, a study shows. The study, āHealth outcomes and adherence to a healthy lifestyle after a multimodal intervention in people with multiple sclerosis: Three year follow-up,ā…
May 24, 2018 News by Ashraf Malhas, PhD Gilenya Tied to Treatment Satisfaction, Quality of Life in MS Patients Treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) is associated with treatment satisfaction, which, in turn, is linked to a better quality-of-life in patients withĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study has found. Gilenya, an oral disease-modifying treatment (DMT) for RRMS developed by Novartis, has been available in France since 2011. Studies have…
April 9, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson Taking My MS on a Road Trip OnĀ Good Friday, my family and I took a three-day road trip to lay my husband to rest. Our goal was to honor his last wishes and set his ashes free in the wilderness that he so loved. My husband enjoyed going archery hunting almost every fall, until a…
April 6, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Online Meditation Course Seen to Help MS Patients Manage Symptoms in Clinical Trial Online training inĀ Ā meditationĀ based on mindfulness can improve the quality of life for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients while easing depression, anxiety, and sleep problems, a study conducted in Italy reports. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that interventions able…
March 20, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Treatment with Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Safe with Sustained Benefits for MS, Trial Shows Treatment with umbilical cord stem cells was found to be safe and leads toĀ sustained improvements in disability and brain lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a clinical trial. The study, āClinical feasibility of umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of multiple sclerosis,ā was…
February 23, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Pilot Study Is Testing Whether Mediterranean Diet Can Help MS Patients New York researchers are doing a pilot study of whether a Mediterranean diet can reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.Ā Dr. Ilana B. Katz Sand, an assistant professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,Ā is leading…
January 18, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski What We Can Learn from Longevity’s Link to Quality of Life Quality of life. These three words conjure different images for people, depending on their needs. Quality of life could mean having improved health, good relationships with others, and stress-free life. In the world of medical research, quality of life (QoL), is an endpoint result that is often understudied…
January 15, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson Grieving the Loss of a Loved One One year ago, I wrote “Grief, Self-preservation and Multiple Sclerosis.” My…
November 9, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell A Beacon of Hope Amid MS-Related Pain Do you have pain? Although prone to subjectivity, I am certain the majority of you silently said yes. I did. I hesitated to write this, as pain, from the definition of it to the management of it, is idiosyncratic. Rather than draw hard and fast lines, I prefer to…
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 ā Quitting Smoking, Boosting Vitamin D Reduces MS Healthcare Costs, Improves Outcomes People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who quit smoking have better health outcomes than those who continue. Therefore, MS-relatedĀ costs can be reduced by encouraging smokers toĀ quit. Similar results were observed in MS patients with healthy vitamin D levels,Ā Maura Pugliatti,Ā from theĀ University of Ferrara, in Italy,Ā said Friday in a presentation at the…
September 20, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Winner of $4.9 Million Research Award Tests Online and Teleconference-based Methods to Reduce MS-related Fatigue People withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā often face geographic barriers that end up limiting their treatment options. That has led a Case Western Reserve University researcher to test online- and teleconference-based methods of reducing fatigue and improving patients’ quality of life. Matthew Plow, assistant professor at the university’s Frances Payne Bolton…
September 11, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Humorist Yvonne DeSousa, in GeneFo Webinar, Offers Tips on How Laughter Can Make You Feel Better Laughter really is among the best medicines when it comes to multiple sclerosis, says Yvonne deSousa, an MS patient, humorist and author who plans to share her tips on integrating humor into daily living, in a free webinar organized by GeneFo. The webinar, which will also discuss research into laughter therapy for MS, will take place Sept. 13 at 1 pm EST (6 pm in the United Kingdom). Scientists are increasingly aware that emotions play a crucial role in determine progression rates and outcomes of chronic diseases. This has led researchers to study how therapies including humor and laughter might contribute to improve patient's well-being. DeSousa, a native of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been nominated for a WEGO Health Hilarious Patient Leader Award. She promises to offer hands-on advice on how to āfind the funny, de-stress, and enjoy a good laughā despite the reality of living with a chronic and debilitating condition such as MS. The online lecture will also focus on the biology of how laughter can improve patient outcomes. Research shows that laughing affects immune and endocrinological processes, while increasing tolerance to pain. Laughter also counteracts anxiety and depression. These factors, deSousa pointed out, are all crucial in MS, and she should know. The comic has taken a humorous approach to her own illness from the start, and now runs a blog that recently made the Top 50 MS Blog list. She's also written a book ā called MS Madness ā on the topic. The webinar will also introduce a research project led by Dr. Theodore Brown that now seeks MS patients for a study of how laughter therapy affects mood, stress and self-efficacy. Researchers hope these types of studies will encourage doctors to incorporate humor-based practices into common care protocols for MS. Details of the research program will be shared with webinar attendees. Those wishing to participate in the free webinar ā and receive a video recording by email later ā can register by following this link.
August 24, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Horseback Riding Plus Standard Care Can Help MS Patients Improve Balance, Other Symptoms Therapeutic horseback riding, also known as hippotherapy, when combined with standard care regimens significantly reduces fatigue and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. It also improves balance and quality of life, according to a German study. Hippotherapy takes advantage of a horse's natural movements to develop a patient's muscle tone and improve breathing, while strengthening the torso muscles. Horseback riding also improves balance control, coordination and gait, while boosting a patient's social communication skills, which can benefit self-esteem. āHippotherapy as a complementary treatment can be defined as one-patient-one-horse physiotherapy treatment with and on the horse,ā researchers wrote. Team leaders Vanessa Vermƶhlen and Petra Schiller of the University of Cologne evaluated the benefits of half-hour weekly sessions of hippotherapy in combination with standard care. They randomly assigned 70 MS patients with lower limb spasticity to either an intervention group that did 12 weeks of hippotherapy, or a control group that received only standard therapy. The team evaluated the impact therapeutic horseback riding had on balance, measured by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). They also measured its effect on other multiple sclerosis symptoms and signs, including fatigue, quality of life, pain, and spasticity. Overall, the team found that those who received hippotherapy plus standard care improved their BBS scores by 4.8 points after six weeks of therapy, and 6.4 by the trial's end. These increases were significantly higher than those achieved by the control group (2.9 points at six weeks and 3.1 points at 12 weeks). Although this represents a difference of only 3.3 points after 12 weeks, it still reflects a relevant change in patients' balance control capabilities, the authors said. In addition, the researchers also recognized significant improvements in fatigue, spasticity and quality of life of those undergoing hippotherapy plus standard care compared to those on the control group. The observed beneficial effects of hippotherapy validate previous reports that showing that activities with horses could help adults and children improve their balance, gait and psychomotor abilities.
August 22, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Mavenclad Improves Relapsing MS Patientsā Quality of Life, Independent U.K. Study Finds Merckās Mavenclad tablets significantly improve quality of life among relapsing multiple sclerosis patients while reducing the number of relapses, according to new analyses of previously unpublished data from clinical trials assessing the drug. This new data, published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal, come just as the European Commission ponders whether to approve the once- rejected therapy to treat relapsing forms of MS. Its decision is expected later this month, seven years after a perceived increased of cancer risk led the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to block Mavenclad. In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected the medication, forcing its eventual withdrawal from the Australian and Russian markets, where it had already been licensed. For the study, researchers at Queen Mary University of London used data obtained from the EMA through a Freedom of Information request. They analyzed data from the Phase 3 CLARITY trial, which compared Mavenclad to placebo. The trial's 1,326 participants completed a quality-of-life questionnaire that focused on disease aspects such as mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety. After two years, those on Mavenclad had significantly improved their quality of life compared to the control group, particularly in terms of self-care. Mavenclad also helped mobility, which might be related to its ability to prevent relapses and delay progression, researchers said. While researchers assessed quality of life using two different questionnaires, patients had only completed one in sufficient numbers to allow for a solid analysis. The other quality-of-life tool provided researchers with numerically positive results, but the low number of responses made the result difficult to interpret. This wasn't the first time QMUL researchers have contributed in this way to knowledge of Mavenclad in MS. In 2015, they used a Freedom of Information request to obtain data showing that Mavenclad was not related to increased cancer risk. āCladribine seemed to have such excellent potential as a treatment for MS that we thought it was tragic the development program was shelved, and significant parts of the clinical trial data remained unpublished,ā study leader Klaus Schmierer, a neurologist at both QMUL and Barts Health NHS Trust, said in a press release. āIn addition to the drug being highly effective, well tolerated and safe as far as short-term studies can show, we now know it also improves patientsā quality of life. The new results seemed so clear, we felt it was extremely important to publish and share these data." Mavenclad has now been studied in some 2,700 patients with relapsing MS in the Phase 3 trials CLARITY, CLARITY EXTENSION, and ORACLE-MS, as well as the Phase 2 ONWARD trial, and the ongoing long-term study PREMIERE. The treatment differs from most other oral MS therapies in that a short treatment course ā a maximum 20 days ā triggered effects that were upheld for two years. Studies of Mavencladās mechanisms suggest the drug gets such results by resetting the immune system. In June 2017, the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use urged the European Commission to approve Mavenclad. Merck also plans to seek U.S. approval for its therapy and is now in talks with the FDA about Mavenclad's future.