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Myelin is the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.

Regis Technologies' 4-Aminopyridine manufacturing facility receives FDA's EIR and PAI approval

Regis Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of cGMP and non-GMP synthesis and separations services for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, announced it has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating that Regis passed the FDA’s pre-approval inspection (PAI) for its manufacture of 4-Aminopyridine the active ingredient in Ampyra™.

29 Jan 2010

Elan Drug Technologies issues statement on FDA approval of AMPYRA

Elan Drug Technologies, a business unit of Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) as a treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

25 Jan 2010

FDA's Ampyra approval wonderful news for people with MS experiencing walking problems

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the marketing of Ampyra™ (dalfampridine, formerly known as fampridine SR, from Acorda Therapeutics) for its ability to improve walking speed in people with any type of multiple sclerosis.

23 Jan 2010

FDA approves fampridine-SR drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug fampridine-SR for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have been evaluating the effects of the drug in MS for more than 10 years- it is the first medication shown to enhance some neurological functions in people with the disease - and their efforts helped pave the way for today's action by the FDA.

23 Jan 2010

Acorda Therapeutics receives marketing approval from FDA for AMPYRA

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine), an oral treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

22 Jan 2010

Vitamin D insufficiency associated with higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with MS

Low vitamin D blood levels are associated with a significantly higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who develop the disease during childhood, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

22 Jan 2010

New findings may provide a standardized way to diagnose autism in children

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism.

8 Jan 2010

Researchers seek to defeat Alzheimer's disease by modifying mice's immune system

Using laboratory mice that had been bred to have brain changes similar to Alzheimer's disease, scientists were able to reduce two characteristic features of the disease by modifying the mice's immune systems with a special peptide (MOG45D) related to the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells and nerve fibers. As a result, anti-inflammatory cells were recruited from the blood into the brain, dampening the local inflammatory response.

7 Jan 2010

National MS Society calls for grant applications to examine the impact of CCSVI hypothesis

2009 saw exciting research progress, unprecedented opportunities on the horizon, and more scientists than ever working on resolving important questions. Despite the year's economic and financial challenges, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society continues to propel research forward to end MS. In 2009 the Society provided over $33.5 million to support 345 new and ongoing projects in its research portfolio, plus $1.5 million for Fast Forward, the Society's drug development subsidiary which continues to attract new funding streams.

23 Dec 2009

Opexa Therapeutics completes registered direct offering

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing Tovaxin®, a novel T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), today announced that it has completed its registered direct offering with several institutional investors to sell 2,550,000 units, each unit consisting of one share of Opexa common stock, a five-year Series

18 Dec 2009

Behavioral intervention can improve cognitive performance in children

Carnegie Mellon University scientists Timothy Keller and Marcel Just have uncovered the first evidence that intensive instruction to improve reading skills in young children causes the brain to physically rewire itself, creating new white matter that improves communication within the brain.

10 Dec 2009

Biogen Idec's BG-12 achieves key milestones in clinical trials for MS and RA

Biogen Idec today announced that its oral compound BG-12 (dimethyl fumarate) achieved key milestones in clinical trials for multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

8 Dec 2009

Two Brown University faculty members receive federal funding for new neuroscience research projects

Two Brown University faculty members have received federal funding for innovative new neuroscience research projects focusing on brain development in infants and bipolar disorder in children.

7 Dec 2009

Stem cell treatment: A new hope for Multiple Sclerosis

RNL Bio Co., Ltd, (www.rnl.co.kr) a leading biopharmaceutical company specialized in adult stem cell therapeutics announced today that a 46-year-old female, Kang Sook Park's Multiple Sclerosis improved tremendously after receiving stem cell treatment. Park was suffering from MS (Multiple Sclerosis), an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).

6 Dec 2009

DTI helps identify distorted nerve fiber bundles around brain tumors in thalamic JPA children

A new study published this week in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics finds that operative plans for removing Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma, or JPA, tumors in the thalamus of the brain can be augmented with Diffusion Tensor Imaging, or DTI. The sensitivity of DTI imaging allows for the visualization of nerve fiber bundles in the brain.

5 Dec 2009

Benign tumors in children can be augmented with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

5 Dec 2009

New approach to identify molecules that prevent immune cells from attacking body

A study led by a Scripps Research Institute scientist describes a new, highly pragmatic approach to the identification of molecules that prevent a specific type of immune cells from attacking their host. The findings add a powerful new tool to the ongoing search for potential treatments for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as blood cancers, such as myeloid leukemia.

2 Dec 2009

StemCells commences patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial of HuCNS-SC in PMD

StemCells, Inc. announced today that it has commenced patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial designed to test the safety and preliminary efficacy of its HuCNS-SC® purified human neural stem cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a neurological disorder that primarily afflicts children. The study is being conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital, one of the leading medical centers in the United States for neonatology, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.

24 Nov 2009

Experimental drug to restore function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries shows promise

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.

20 Nov 2009

UCLA study: Structural changes in brain may help offset vision loss and strengthen other senses

Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide. The reason they can do this, researchers suggest, is that in at least some circumstances, blindness can heighten other senses, helping individuals adapt.

19 Nov 2009