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Vaccination for children: Pros and cons

ProCon.org, a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity dedicated to promoting critical thinking, created the new website http://vaccines.procon.org to explore the core question "Should any vaccines be required for children?"

23 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

Ampyra receives FDA approval for improving walking in MS patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ampyra (dalfampridine) extended release tablets to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, patients treated with Ampyra had faster walking speeds than those treated with an inactive pill (placebo). This is the first drug approved for this use.

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

CytRx announces its plans to advance multiple oncology development programs in 2010

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced its plans for 2010 aimed at advancing the clinical development of its high-value drug development pipeline and enhancing shareholder value.

22 Jan 2010

CMO to manufacture Gaia BioPharma's GAI-122 Mitochondria-targeted neuroprotective agent

AlphaRx Inc. announced today that its licensee, Gaia BioPharma Limited, has signed an agreement with a contract manufacturing organization (CMO), to manufacture GAI-122 for use in the planned Phase I and II clinical trials of that product candidate. GAI-122 is being developed as I.V. administered formulation of an intracellular neuroprotectant that employs AlphaRx's proprietary nano-emulsion formulation technology.

22 Jan 2010

Neuralstem announces treatment of first ALS patient with spinal cord stem cells

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that the first ALS patient was treated with its spinal cord stem cells yesterday at the Emory ALS Center at Emory University, in Atlanta, GA. A total of up to 18 patients is planned to be treated in this first U.S. clinical trial to evaluate human neural stem cells for the treatment of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease). ALS affects roughly 30,000 people in the U.S., with about 5,600 new diagnoses per year, according to the ALS Association.

21 Jan 2010

Results of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 published

Results of the TRANSFORMS and FREEDOMS studies, the two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 (fingolimod), have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, providing comprehensive evidence to support the efficacy and safety profile of this first-in-class therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS).

21 Jan 2010

EMD Serono announces results from CLARITY Phase III trial in MS patients

EMD Serono, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today the online publication of the results from the CLARITY Phase III trial using Cladribine Tablets (EMD Serono's proprietary investigational oral formulation of cladribine) in The New England Journal of Medicine. The CLARITY study was a two-year (96-week), randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III trial of Cladribine Tablets in 1,326 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).

21 Jan 2010

New method for diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis VA Medical Center have identified a biological marker in the brains of those exhibiting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

20 Jan 2010

IMSMP signs a lease for additional 48,000 square feet to expand its facility

The International Multiple Sclerosis Management Practice (IMSMP), a 34,000 square foot research and treatment center dedicated to MS, today announced that it has signed a lease for an additional 48,000 square feet. This makes it the largest establishment in the world committed to discovering the cause and cure for MS.

20 Jan 2010

Fast Forward, JDRF announce collaborative partnership with Axxam SpA

Fast Forward, LLC, the commercial drug development arm of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leader in research leading to a cure for type 1 diabetes in the world today announced a collaborative partnership with Axxam SpA -- a leading company in conducting early-stage discovery research programs for the life science industry -- to develop new treatments for two autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes (T1D).

20 Jan 2010

Neurosurgical journals influence neurosurgeons and their patients

A compendium of articles in the Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS) provides evidence that specialty medical journals are not only an invaluable resource to physicians and researchers, but to the media and public. Clinical and basic science papers do not have to be published in large, high-impact publications to garner attention, and in fact when it comes to specialized areas of medicine such as neurosurgery, publications devoted to the subspecialty produce many citation classics. "Citation classic" is a term given to articles that have been cited more than 400 times.

18 Jan 2010

Metabolon awarded US Patent for ‘metabolomics methods’

Metabolon, Inc., the leader in global metabolism through biomarker discovery and analysis, today announced that it was awarded US Patent 7,635,556 “Methods for Drug Discovery, Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Using Metabolomics” by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on December 22, 2009.

18 Jan 2010

Breakthrough discovery could lead to new treatments for a variety of CNS disorders

A breakthrough discovery by scientists at the University of Kentucky could someday lead to new treatments for a variety of diseases of the brain, spinal cord and the eye.

18 Jan 2010

FDA approves TCA-CT's adult stem cell protocol for conducting Phase I clinical trials in ALS

TCA Cellular Therapy, LLC (TCA-CT) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its adult stem cell protocol to conduct Phase I clinical trials to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

18 Jan 2010

New findings may yield novel therapies for chronic neurodegenerative diseases

We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.

18 Jan 2010

Medical Marijuana praises New Jersey State Assembly for removing state-wide penalties on marijuana use

Medical Marijuana Inc applauds the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate for having approved "The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" on Monday, January 11, 2010. A804/S119 removes state-wide penalties for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana when a New Jersey licensed Physician recommends it for one of the qualified medical conditions including Aids, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's disease among others.

13 Jan 2010