Dr. Rebecca Coll, a young researcher at the University of Queensland Institute of Molecular Bioscience, won the 2016 Research Australia Discovery Award for her work in identifying promising anti-inflammatory compounds that are able to block the NLRP3 inflammasome — a key driver of inflammation. The discovery could greatly benefit patients with inflammatory diseases,…
Therapy and counseling
GNS Healthcare is presenting a data-driven causal machine learning solution, called Efficacy to Effectiveness, designed to predict how potential therapies will actually perform in distinct populations. The data, being released today at ISPOR 2016, used pre-launch data from a study comparing Gilenya (fingolimod) and other multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies to build and validate causal models…
I have to be honest. This is a complex subject for me. As a child I was taught to pray and to believe in what I prayed for. I truly believed that there was nothing that God and I couldn’t get through together. This conviction accompanied me into adulthood.
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) recently installed a state-of-the-art SafeGait 360 Balance and Mobility Trainer on its Austin, Texas campus. The device is a ceiling-mounted body-weight support and fall protection system that tracks patient movements 2,500 times per second. The trainer was designed in collaboration with…
Pilates: A Good Therapy for MS?
Have you tried Pilates to improve your mobility? When my wife and I tried it, a few years ago, I thought that it was sort of like doing yoga stretches using exercise equipment. It felt good and, for the short time that I did keep it up, Pilates seemed…
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals announced that it has received an Intent to Grant notice from the European Patent Office (EPO) regarding a patent for its proprietary molecule Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4), a potential therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) designed to promote remyelination. The patent will cover the use of Tβ4 in a composition for treating or reducing…
Karen Staman and I met a while back through a National Institute of Health and Duke University research collaborative effort. She is a scientific writer by trade, which means she sits through lots of conversation and puts everyone else’s thoughts into cohesive sentences that can then be published, and…
Editor’s Note: Debi Wilson’s column “Faith of the Mustard Seed” explores a range of important topics that relate directly to the patient experience. In her debut article, she discusses her own experiences with neurologists, and encourages MS to not settle on a specialist until they feel as though their…
Here is my Pick of the Week’s News, from articles published on Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Antioxidant Therapies Seen as Promising Approach in Treating MS and Like Diseases Maybe antioxidant research could provide another avenue of MS therapy. A review article published in the British…
Allegations that false claims regarding treatment were made to potential patients, as well as one of its proponents having at least one fake degree, are being leveled against a stem cell clinic that was operating in India two years ago. The clinic was not offering HSCT, but rather a form of combination…
Assessing and treating psychiatric disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may improve their quality of life and disease prognosis, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School, who presented their work titled “Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Multiple Sclerosis: Assessment and Management” at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC)…
Stem cell treatment of MS, which came under the spotlight at last week’s 16th Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) when Dr. Mark Freedman discussed the procedure, is an exciting area within the development of therapies. Dr. Freedman, professor of medicine (neurology) at the…
A case report of a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) after natalizumab therapy, found that the immune-boosting molecule interleukin-2 (IL-2) might be a viable therapeutic option to fight this life-threatening complication although further study is needed. The case report, “Use of interleukin-2 for…
Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., announced that its president and chief executive officer, Neil K. Warma, recently gave a presentation on immunotherapy and its potential for treating autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis, at the recent Cellular Horizons: The Third International Conference on the Progress of Regenerative Medicine and its Cultural Impact held at the Vatican. Neil…
A large-scale online survey, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and developed by researchers, is investigating how multiple sclerosis (MS) patients perceive and evaluate the risks and benefits of available therapies. Investigators encourage MS patients to participate in the survey, titled “Multiple Sclerosis Risk Tolerance,” which can be…
In a recent study, researchers show how a natural antioxidant within pomegranate seeds is capable of inhibiting demyelination in a mouse model for multiple sclerosis (MS), supporting novel formulations of natural antioxidants as therapeutics for demyelinating diseases. The study, “Treatment of a multiple sclerosis animal model by a novel nano drop formulation of…
MyTomorrows, a company that provides information and facilitates requests regarding clinical trials, diagnostic tests and medicines through its internet-based platform, and Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc, a pharmaceutical company specialized in the development of new therapies for life-threatening disorders, have partnered in an effort to make Hemispherx’s natural alpha interferon therapy…
Dr. Peter Chin, a renowned neurologist and Principal Medical Director of Global Neuroscience Development at Genentech, a leading biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, participated in an exclusive interview with Multiple Sclerosis News Today correspondent Dr. Ana de Barros on the company’s promising multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy…
A study recently published in the journal PLoS One compared the use of a specific treatment based on interferon beta-1a with other approved injectable therapies in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The study is entitled “A Network Meta-Analysis of Efficacy and Evaluation of…
Two Dragons Hypnotherapy recently announced the results of a one-year case study that assessed the effects of hypnotherapy on a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) named Kristen. Case studies such as these, while not enough to establish new scientific conclusions on how to effectively treat a disease such as MS, add…
After the Phase 2b clinical trial named Abili-T achieved full enrollment with 190 secondary progress multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients, The Woodlands, Texas-based Opexa Therapeutics is patiently awaiting results for the company’s lead candidate, Tcelna, which are expected in the second half of 2016.
Researchers, Biotech Companies Present Key MS Discoveries & Therapy Updates at Recent Conference
The 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting took place last week in Washington, DC and included eight investigators from the Tisch MS Research Center of New York, whose research efforts focus on finding a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers attended the meeting to share data and insights on…
A new study suggests that different types of physical activity might help the mental processes of people with multiple sclerosis. The research comes from the University of Illinois and the State University of New York at Buffalo, and appeared in the February 6th issue of the…
A new study entitled “NAD+ protects against EAE by regulating CD4+ T-cell differentiation” published in October issue of Nature Communications reports that NAD+ can be a future therapeutic drug to treat Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a type of autoimmune disease where the inner…
Newtown, Pennsylvania based Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. announced on June 6th that the company has entered into an agreement and plan of merger whereby the Company has agreed to acquire 100% of issued and outstanding common shares of Neurohabilitation Corporation (“Neuro”) of Delaware by way of a plan of…
A new study on mice published in Nature Neuroscience finds that fingolimod (Novartis brand name Gilenya) a first-in-class sphingosine-1-phosphate-receptor modulator currently used in treating persons with severe relapsing remitting MS, may also have therapeutic value in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Nature Neuroscience study is titled…