Latest Multiple Sclerosis News

Teenage obesity - possible link to future Multiple Sclerosis?

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:36:43 GMT

Being obese as a teenager may be linked with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis as an adult, researchers say.

A 40-year study of 238,000 women found those who were obese at 18 had twice the risk of developing MS compared to women who were slimmer at that age.

Yet body size during childhood or adulthood was not found to be associated with MS risk, the US...

Elan updates Tysabri label to warn of risks of brain disease

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:43:21 GMT

ELAN HAS updated the label on its breakthrough multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tysabri to reflect the increased risk of patients contracting a serious brain disease if they are on the drug for more than two years.

The...

Crossing the line: how aggressive cells invade the brain

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:47:56 GMT

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 specialised blood vessels act as a barrier between the nervous system and the bloodstream. Until now,...

Study looks at Multiple Sclerosis relapses and effects on disability

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:32:34 GMT

The study is one of the first to examine how MS relapses affect people during different time periods of the disease.

Research shows that 85 percent of people with MS begin by having the relapsing-remitting form of the disease...

Schoolboy campaigner backs MS vitamin D summit & wins support for campaign

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:11:10 GMT

A major international summit on the links between multiple sclerosis and vitamin D deficiency, supported by the Scottish government, is to take place in Scotland early next year thanks to the efforts of a campaigning...

Modifying neural stem cells improves their therapeutic efficacy in MS model

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:23:58 GMT

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...

'I thought I was alone with my MS'

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:33:43 GMT

When Shiv Sharma was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis he was the only South Asian he knew with the condition.

"I got a bit of a shock at the time," he said.

"I honestly thought I...

Milford Haven woman's campaign gathers momentum

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:04:42 GMT

A Milford Haven woman's campaign for comprehensive clinical trials of the drug Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is gathering momentum, as her 10 Downing Street petition has over 10,000 signatures and a TV doctor has thrown his weight behind the fight.

Jayne Crocker and her partner, Andrew Barnett, both take LDN, a generic drug which is...

Biogen Idec releases update on Tysabri and PML

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:01:45 GMT

According to information released yesterday by Biogen Idec, there have been 24 confirmed cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML, a viral infection of the brain that usually leads to death or severe disability) among people who have used

First oral therapies for multiple sclerosis anticipated

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:31:27 GMT

With five novel oral therapies in late-stage development, there could soon be a wide range of treatment options for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, but better biomarkers are needed to more effectively address the...

Swiss plan controls on 'suicide tourism'

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:17:32 GMT

It has long been the final destination for terminally ill patients who want to end their lives, offering what many consider to be a dignified way out of their suffering.

But now, Switzerland is proposing legislation that would limit the practice of assisted suicide to people who are terminally ill -- or ban it altogether.

If either...

'Talk therapy', not medication, for the depressed chronically ill

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:37:24 GMT

Antidepressants should not be used routinely to treat depression in adults with chronic health problems, according to the treatment regulator, NICE.

Depression is two to three times more common in patients with problems such as cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.

NICE recommends structural physical activities and talking therapies for mild to moderate...

EU agency reports 24th PML infection case for Tysabri

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:16:04 GMT

European regulators reported another case of potentially deadly brain infection in patients taking multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, taking the worldwide total since 2006 to 24.

There have been four deaths, a...

Scientists link diet and immune system

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:15:11 GMT

Australian scientists have found a "direct link" between what we eat and how well our immune system operates, a breakthrough that could explain rising rates of autoimmune disease across the western world.

Professor Charles Mackay, working at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, identified how fibre in the diet plays a...

Low Dose Naltrexone study indicates a possible new paradigm for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:56:38 GMT

Endogenous Opioids Regulate Expression of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Preclinical investigations utilizing murine experimental auto-immune encephalomyelitis (EAE), as well as clinical observations in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), may suggest alteration of endogenous opioid systems in MS.

In this study we used the...

Cannabis evidence 'was distorted' by government ministers

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:02:05 GMT

The row over the reclassification of cannabis has been reignited after the government's chief drug adviser accused ministers of "distorting" the evidence.

Professor David Nutt, who heads the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, says it does not cause major health problems.

He accused ex-home secretary Jacqui Smith, who...

Rituximab in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:03:52 GMT

OBJECTIVE: Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody selectively depleting CD20+ B cells, has demonstrated efficacy in reducing disease activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). We evaluated rituximab in...

Tysabri problems - fault of European doctors?

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:51:57 GMT

Biogen Idec's key multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri had been linked to 23 worldwide cases of a potentially deadly brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML - with most confirmed cases...

Efficacy and specificity of intensive cognitive rehabilitation of attention and executive functions in multiple sclerosis

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:28:35 GMT

Summary
Intensive neuropsychological rehabilitation of attention, information processing and executive functions is effective in patients with relapsing-remitting MS and low levels of disability,...

Possible early diagnosis method for Multiple Sclerosis discovered

feeds@yuku.com (squiffy2) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:47:08 GMT

Researchers at the Multiple Sclerosis Unit of the Donostia Hospital in Donostia-San Sebastian, in collaboration with a bioinformatics team (Sistemas Inteligentes) from the University of the Basque Country, have published a study in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS One) that for the first time links the expression patterns of molecules called microARN...