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Minimally invasive endovascular treatment for CCSVI is safe in patients with MS

Researchers who investigated the connection between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (a reported condition characterized as a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain and spinal cord and returns it to the heart) and multiple sclerosis indicate that a minimally invasive endovascular treatment for CCSVI, is safe and may produce "significant," short-term improvement in physical- and mental health-related quality of life in individuals with MS.

26 Mar 2012

Angioplasty safe for MS patients with venous abnormalities

Researchers report that performing angioplasty (a treatment that involves temporarily inserting and blowing up a tiny balloon inside a clogged artery to help widen it) on veins in the neck and chest is safe—and may be an effective way to treat the venous abnormalities found in those with multiple sclerosis and provide symptom relief.

26 Mar 2012

New method for in vivo study of unknown selenium metabolism

Spanish and Danish researchers have developed a method for the in vivo study of the unknown metabolism of selenium, an essential element for living beings. The technique can help clarify whether or not it possesses the anti-tumour properties that have been attributed to it and yet have not been verified through clinical trials.

22 Mar 2012

Researchers identify Wnt pathway as new target for scleroderma therapy

A genetic pathway previously known for its role in embryonic development and cancer has been identified as a target for systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, therapy.

20 Mar 2012

Gilenya - pill for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis recommended by NICE

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issued new draft guidance recommending fingolimod (brand name Gilenya) on the NHS for some patients with a form of MS. The new drug can help reduce the number of relapses in adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which is characterized by periods when symptoms worsen and then improve.

19 Mar 2012

Different mechanisms might be involved in relapsing and progressive onset MS

Patients with relapsing onset Multiple Sclerosis (MS) who consumed alcohol, wine, coffee and fish on a regular basis took four to seven years longer to reach the point where they needed a walking aid than people who never consumed them. However the study, published in the April issue of the European Journal of Neurology, did not observe the same patterns in patients with progressive onset MS.

19 Mar 2012

Klf4 protein an important regulator of inflammation: HNK study

Microglia are the first line defence of the brain and are constantly looking for infections to fight off. Overactive microglia can cause uncontrolled inflammation within the brain, which can in turn lead to neuronal damage. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Neuroinflammation shows that, honokiol (HNK) is able to down-regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory enzymes in activated microglia via Klf4, a protein known to regulate DNA.

19 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Medicaid vs. private pay ER use; Doctors treat black, white patients differently; Caregiver stress

By looking at National Health Interview Survey data of more than 230,000 patients from 1999-2009, researchers were able to compare Medicaid with privately insured patients. More than 39 percent of those enrolled in Medicaid in the sample used the ER versus 17.7 percent of privately insured patients. Medicaid patients wer much more likely to have "specific barriers to timely primary care."

17 Mar 2012

NEJM publishes results from Teva's laquinimod Phase III study on RRMS

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech today announced the publication of results from the laquinimod Phase III ALLEGRO study in the March 15 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Mar 2012

State budget burdens, cost-cutting efforts focus on health programs

Burdened by budget deficits, states are cutting health programs to the chagrin of some. But others say the economic downturn has allowed states to take up long-term economic problems they wouldn't have addressed otherwise.

14 Mar 2012

Warm weather may hinder cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis

Warm weather may hinder cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results of a Kessler Foundation study e-published online ahead of print by Neurology. An accompanying editorial by Meier & Christodoulou, MS and heat: The smoke and the fire, details the study's unique aspects, ie, longitudinal followup in a cohort with apparently quiescent disease.

14 Mar 2012

FDA approves Botox injections for overactive bladder

When you think of Botox injections, you probably think of getting rid of unwanted wrinkles around the eyes or forehead, but recently the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved using the injections to help patients with neurological conditions who suffer from incontinence, or an overactive bladder.

14 Mar 2012

Botox - a potential for therapy of weak bladders in women

The study, published in the journal European Urology, was carried out at eight uro-gynecology centers in the UK from 2006 to 2009 by researchers from the University of Leicester. A total of 240 women were split into two groups, with 122 women given Botox and 118 receiving a dummy treatment. Researchers found improvements across a range of symptoms, including wetting oneself and feeling a need to rush to the toilet, and how often the women 'leaked' urine.

13 Mar 2012

FTY720 improves locomotor recovery in mice with SCI

A new study suggests that administering FTY720, an oral drug that has shown promise in trials for human multiple sclerosis, significantly improves locomotor recovery in mice with spinal cord injury.

13 Mar 2012

JAK-STAT inhibitors reverse MS-like disease in mice

A new class of drugs completing clinical trials soon for rheumatoid arthritis should be examined as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, according to the authors of a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

13 Mar 2012

Connect during MS Awareness Week

Multiple sclerosis is a life altering disease that affects each person in a unique and different way. MS destroys connections, divides minds from bodies, pulls people from their lives and away from one another. Therefore, it's only fitting that connections would be its greatest enemy.

12 Mar 2012

MRF clinical trial to examine antigen-specific MS therapy

The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) announced today that its research might soon lead into a clinical proof-of-concept trial at the Department of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research (nims), University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland, and the Institute for Neuroimmunology and Clinical Multiple Sclerosis Research (inims) in Hamburg, Germany.

8 Mar 2012

Women with multiple pregnancies may have reduced risk of MS

Women who have multiple pregnancies may have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research published in the March 7, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Mar 2012

Researchers document unknown biological mechanism in the blood-brain barrier

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have documented a previously unknown biological mechanism in the brain's most important line of defence: the blood-brain barrier. Scientists now know that the barrier helps maintain a delicate balance of glutamate, a vital signal compound in the brain.

8 Mar 2012

Concert, Fast Forward partner to advance new approach to treat spasticity and pain in MS

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Fast Forward, LLC, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's subsidiary devoted to bridging the gap between research and drug development, today announced a new collaboration to fund the preclinical advancement of C-21191, a deuterium-modified subtype-selective GABAA modulator developed by Concert with the therapeutic potential of treating spasticity and pain in multiple sclerosis (MS).

5 Mar 2012