Drug Studied As Possible Treatment For Spinal Injuries

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171693.php

Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny "potassium channels" in the fibers are exposed. The chemical compound also might be developed as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Good News On Multiple Sclerosis And Pregnancy

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171459.php

There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS.

Early Research Into The Role Of Vitamin D Suggests It May Ease Symptoms Of MS

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171428.php

Australian researchers have presented findings at a national scientific conference for medical research in Hobart, Australia that suggests vitamin D may play a role in preventing relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The research, which is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, may form the basis of a larger clinical trial that would take several years to complete.

MS Is More Aggressive In Children But Slower To Cause Disability Than In Adults

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171262.php

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in childhood show that pediatric onset multiple sclerosis is more aggressive, and causes more brain lesions, than MS diagnosed in adulthood, researchers at the University at Buffalo have reported. Interestingly, however, patients with pediatric-onset MS -- which comprise up to 5 percent of total MS cases -- develop disabilities at a slower pace than patients with adult-onset MS, the data showed.

Smoking May Now Be Considered An Established Risk Factor For ALS, Also Known As Lou Gehrig's Disease

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171265.php

While previous studies have indicated a "probable" connection between smoking and ALS, a new study published in the Nov. 17, 2009 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, states that smoking may now be considered an "established" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The findings come from Baystate Medical Center neurologist Dr.

BrainStorm Stem Cell Therapy Technology Possesses Promising Potential For The Future Treatment Of Multiple Sclerosis

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171234.php

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB:BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, is pleased to announce that the company's therapeutic approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases, particularly ALS and Parkinson's disease, was found to have a positive effect in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Mayo Clinic Neurologist Reports: "Thousands Of NMO Patients Are Misdiagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis"

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170788.php

Thousands of Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) patients are potentially being misdiagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), according to Mayo Clinic Neurologist Sean Pittock, M.D., largely due to lack of awareness of NMO within the medical community. Dr. Pittock shared this finding with more than 50 of the world's leading doctors and medical researchers - from Harvard to Oxford - who gathered at the 2009 NMO Roundtable Conference, sponsored by the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation.

Men Leave: Separation And Divorce Far More Common When The Wife Is The Patient

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170507.php

A woman is six times more likely to be separated or divorced soon after a diagnosis of cancer or multiple sclerosis than if a man in the relationship is the patient, according to a study that examined the role gender played in so-called "partner abandonment." The study also found that the longer the marriage the more likely it would remain intact. The study confirmed earlier research that put the overall divorce or separation rate among cancer patients at 11.

Teenage Obesity Linked To Increased Risk Of MS

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170345.php

Teenage women who are obese may be more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults compared to female teens who are not obese, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The research involved 238,371women from the Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II who were 25 to 55 years old.

Teenage Obesity Linked To MS

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170332.php

New research has investigated the possibility that teenage obesity may be linked with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in women. The results of the study, published in the scientific journal Neurology, examined information gathered information from women who claimed they were obese between the ages of 18 and 20 and linked a two-fold increase in the risk of developing MS.

Real-Time Observation Sheds New Light On Multiple Sclerosis

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170153.php

In diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cells of the immune system infiltrate the brain tissue, where they cause immense damage. For many years, it was an enigma as to how these cells can escape from the bloodstream. This is no trivial feat, given that specialized blood vessels act as a barrier between the nervous system and the bloodstream. Until now, tissue sections provided the sole evidence that the immune cells really do manage to reach the nerve cells.

Multiple Sclerosis: What Part Do Relapses Play In Severe Disability?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169951.php

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have relapses within the first five years of onset appear to have more severe disability in the short term compared to people who do not have an early relapse, according to a new study published in the November 4, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study is one of the first to examine how MS relapses affect people during different time periods of the disease.

Modifying Neural Stem Cells Improves Their Therapeutic Efficacy

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169587.php

Stem cells isolated from the brain of adult mice (adult neural stem cells [aNSCs]) have shown very modest therapeutic effects in a mouse model of the chronic inflammatory neurodegenerative disease multiple sclerosis. But now, Guang-Xian Zhang and colleagues, at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, have developed an approach to enhance the therapeutic effects of aNSCs in this model of multiple sclerosis.

New Tool To Accelerate Discovery Of Autoimmune Disease Mechanisms And Therapies

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169329.php

Currently, 5 - 8% of the U.S. population is afflicted with an autoimmune disease. Many of these are chronic and require life-long care. Moreover, different autoimmune diseases aggregate within a single family, suggesting they are caused by disruptions in common biological pathways. To help researchers investigate these common pathways, The Jackson Laboratory has published Pathways to Discovery: Autoimmune Diseases (

26 New Research Projects Launched Totaling $9.2 Million To Propel Multiple Sclerosis Research

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168828.php

The National MS Society has just committed $9.2 million to launch 26 new MS research projects as part of its comprehensive research program and commitment to move research forward. This investment comes despite a challenging economic environ¬ment, and is the latest in the Society's relentless research effort to stop MS, restore function, and end this disease forever.

European Drug Agency To Weigh Risks/Benefits Of Tysabri -- Cites 23 Cases Of PML

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168826.php

Today the EMEA, the European equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, released a statement indicating that one of its advisory committees was launching a review of the risks and benefits of

Possible New Underlying Cause Of MS Investigated By Neurologists

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168653.php

Neurologists at the University at Buffalo are beginning a research study that could overturn the prevailing wisdom on the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers will test the possibility that the symptoms of MS result from narrowing of the primary veins outside the skull, a condition called "chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency," or CCSVI. (For more details on the study, go to http://www.

'Life-Changing' MS Drug Could Save NHS £300 Million A Year, UK

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168235.php

The lives of 100,000 Multiple Sclerosis sufferers in the UK could be greatly improved while saving the NHS £300 million a year. The claim comes from the LDN Research Trust ahead of the first International LDN Awareness Week which begins this monday.

Acorda Therapeutics Announces Positive Vote By FDA Advisory Committee For Fampridine-SR

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167488.php

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs (PCNSD) Advisory Committee voted 12 to 1 that clinical data on Fampridine-SR 10 mg twice daily demonstrated substantial evidence of effectiveness as a treatment to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and voted 10 to 2 (1 abstention) that it is clinically meaningful and can be safe for use.

Gentle Touch May Aid Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167426.php

While gripping, lifting or manipulating an object such as drinking from a cup or placing a book on a shelf is usually easy for most, it can be challenging for those with neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's, or for people who had a stroke. For them, the tight gripping can cause fatigue, making everyday tasks difficult.

Multiple Sclerosis Researchers To Meet In Boston To Design Largest-Ever Vitamin D Study

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167405.php

On Saturday, October 17, leading MS researchers from around the country will meet at the Hyatt Regency, Boston to evaluate the feasibility of conducting what would be the largest clinical study ever undertaken to explore the role that Vitamin D may play in Multiple Sclerosis. The meeting will be led by Dr.

Female Lawmakers Shape Health Care With Their Own Stories

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167118.php

CQ Politics reports that Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Ohio, is one of several women lawmakers who is using her own history with multiple sclerosis to lobby for changes in the health care system: "As the health care debate rages on, [Kilroy] has decided to use her personal story to help fellow lawmakers understand how important it is to make health care available for all Americans.

Juggling Boosts Brain Connections

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167052.php

Researchers the UK found that learning to juggle boosts brain connections by making structural changes in the white matter of the brain. They hope the study will help develop new treatments for diseases such as multiple sclerosis where central nervous system pathways have become degraded.

Researchers Develop A Software For Clinical Use To Early Detect Multiple Sclerosis

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165953.php

Researchers of the Unit for Systems Biology of the University of Jaén, led by Francisco J. Esteban, are developing a software for clinical use to detect multiple sclerosis even before the typical brain damage of this neurodegenerative disease appear. In order to do so, this scientific multidisciplinary team is calculating the fractal dimension of the brain images registered on magnetic resonance imaging.

Oral Pill Fingolimod Reduces Relapses And Disability Progression

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165831.php

Drug manufacturer Novartis has announced further results from its phase III study of the oral pill fingolimod (FTY-720) in people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The results are from a two-year phase III study called FREEDOMS trial and show that the tablet can reduce relapses by up to 60% and disability progression by up to 32% in people with relapsing remitting MS.