The underlying cause of fatigue experienced by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may be undiagnosed sleep disorders, according to a study conducted at the Department of Neurology of the University of California. Not only is that a problem in itself, but also an undiagnosed and untreated sleeping disorder may exacerbate the…
symptoms
Any intervention that could help multiple sclerosis patients preserve long-term memory would likely be well-received. As suggested by a recent study from the Kessler Foundation, “Working Memory Mediates the Relationship Between Intellectual Enrichment and Long-term Memory in Multiple Sclerosis: An Exploratory Analysis of Cognitive Reserve,” one…
For a 23 year-old country girl from the University of Kentucky to go through the harsh demands of an American beauty pageant, there has to be an inspiration stemming from something more profound than a desire for world peace, a sash, and a shiny crown. Last month, on July 12th,…
Loss of myelin, the fatty protective sheath around nerve fibers, is a characteristic of multiple sclerosis (MS). A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study by a team of researchers has determined that people with MS lose myelin in the gray matter of their brains, and that the amount of loss…
While multiple sclerosis is most typically associated with progressively declining physical ability, multiple sclerosis patients are often times affected by a number of physical and mental health comorbidities in addition to their worsening physical ability. This observation was highlighted by a group of researchers in Scotland led by Drs.
A dynamic research team composed of doctors and scientists recently completed and published a study that sought to gain a better understanding of walking impairment, as it is manifested in patients living with multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurodegenerative disease wherein the impulse-conducting myelin sheath is attacked by the body’s own…
A diet high in salt can worsen multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, as well as increase the risks of neurological deterioration, according to an observational study led by Mauricio Farez, from the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina and recently published at the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, entitled, “Sodium intake is associated with…
Recent research continues to suggest that MS is on the rise is countries that in the past posted small diagnoses of the disease. The latest study reveals that Multiple Sclerosis affects more second-generation Kuwaiti migrants than previously thought, according to an article published in BME Neurology. The findings…
New research published online ahead of print in the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) journal Radiology on August 26, reports that a gaming accessory known as a balance board for the Nintendo Wii console may assist people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in reducing the risk of falling accidentally. Balance…
According to new research published in European Journal of Neurology, susceptibility to multiple sclerosis may be predicted by looking at individuals’ protein profiles, otherwise known as proteomes. A team led by principal investigator Dr. S. Jacobson at the National Institutes of Health and Dr. M. T.
While the majority of scientists dedicated to multiple sclerosis research focus on genetic regulators of conditions such as autoimmunity, demyelination, inflammation, and neurodegeneration, a team from the University of Lubeck in Germany, led by Saleh M. Ibrahim, MD, PhD, focuses on genetic regulators of conduction velocity. The team is uncovering…
Researchers have recently discovered that the fatigue that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience is not the same kind of fatigue that healthy people feel from time to time, nor is it caused by the same factors. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society reports that around 80% of people who suffer from…
The common symptom of fatigue experienced by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may be caused by regional damage in the brain, according to research conducted at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Italy and published in the journal Radiology. Scientists analyzed atrophies and lesions in the white matter and grey matter of 65…
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are no substitutes for the regular treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), however, they are becoming more common among patients as a way of alleviating the symptoms of the disease. Massage therapy is an example of that. 36-year-old Jessica Rich is a patient who embraced…
For the approximately 15-20% of multiple sclerosis patients with acute optic neuritis (AON), lack of vitamin D may be partly responsible. A new study published in Neurology identified a link between vitamin D levels and AON severity. Individuals with higher vitamin D levels may experience less severe…
An Everyday Health blog by New Jersey-based husband and wife team Brad and Robynn Mann notes that more time spent outdoors during the warmer months means more potential encounters with insects that can be disease vectors, notably mosquitos and ticks. Mr. Mann, who is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS),…
Tracking patients’ progress is a critical part of MS management, a process that can benefit from greater objective analysis. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have determined that tablet computers, which feature built-in technologies like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and touchscreens, when combined with appropriate software, can provide pretty good MS assessment capabilities.
Fatigue, a common symptom of multiple sclerosis, could be a result of regional damage in the brain. A study published in Radiology by a group in Italy led by Massimo Filippi, MD, from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University showed that local, rather than global, atrophy is associated with fatigue.
Researchers at the Kessler Foundation bolstered the knowledge of cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis patients with an article published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. This longitudinal study is one of the longest among studies of cognition in multiple sclerosis. “While cognitive impairment is known to affect…
Dr. Terry Wahls, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A., where she teaches internal medicine residents in primary care clinics, in addition to being a physician is also a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient. First diagnosed in 2000,…
snig / Shutterstock.com Following yesterday’s publication of “Multiple Sclerosis Management – A Changing Landscape 2013,” a report outlining ongoing goals and focus points for advancing MS drugs and treatments, as a result of a meeting of specialists in Vienna, Austria, a new article…
Another study, in what has become a succession of Canadian studies, has failed to detect a link between blocked neck veins and multiple sclerosis proposed by Italian physician and researcher Dr. Paolo Zamboni in 2008 (a report in the Lancet noted that this hypothesis was originally posed by…
A new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology says that predicting disease evolution is becoming essential for optimizing treatment decision-making in multiple sclerosis (MS), in which pathologic damage typically includes demyelination, neuro-axonal loss, and astrogliosis. The study, entitled “Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy…
Positive study results from a preliminary phase II clinical trial for a new potential therapeutic intervention for the treatment of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were recently released at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia by Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, M.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles.
A group of researchers led by Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, and Liana Roberts Stein, PhD, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been working on pathways to trace cognitive decline in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It has been noted in previous research that brain cells derive energy for maintaining…
According to a recent article by Beth Roessner at the Desert Sun, some Multiple Sclerosis patients are beginning to utilize healthier diets and eating habits to complement conventional treatments for their disease — an approach that even some researchers are beginning to study. Erin Davis, a 40 year-old woman,…
Patients with multiple sclerosis may benefit from improving blood fats, otherwise known as serum lipids, according to a new study from University of Tasmania in Australia published in Multiple Sclerosis…
The diagnosis of a disease normally depends on the risk factors one is exposed to during his or her lifetime, and subsequently therapeutic measures are taken in order to treat the same with hopes of a better prognosis and a healthy lifestyle. However, scientists at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital…
For years, clinicians and patients could only notice and accept the fact that four times more women than men are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now, a group of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are uncovering a potential reason for the disparity, and they recently…
A small scale study undertaken by researchers at the Department of Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) showed the benefits of maintaining a low-fat diet in improving fatigue related to multiple sclerosis (MS). The study was led by Dr. Vijayshree Yadav, M.D., an associate professor of neurology in…