Multiple Sclerosis News and Research

Latest Multiple Sclerosis News and Research

Top neurologists to receive 2010 AAN Alliance Awards

The American Academy of Neurology will recognize the outstanding achievements of researchers in neurology during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 through 17, 2010, the world's largest gathering of neurologists with more than 2,000 presentations on the latest advances in neurologic research.

31 Mar 2010

Study suggests two distinct versions of multiple sclerosis

There may be two distinct versions of multiple sclerosis, a study in both animal models and human blood samples suggests. What's more, a patient's responsiveness to the most popular first-line drug for this episodic and all-too-often recurring autoimmune condition seems to depend on which version that patient has.

30 Mar 2010

Conference on the actions of Vitamin D on human health

An important conference on the actions of Vitamin D on human health is being hosted by Barts and The London Medical School and the MRC Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma.

30 Mar 2010

Erbitux can now be used in Japan as 1st-line treatment for mCRC: Merck Serono

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that Erbitux® (cetuximab) can now be used in Japan in combination with chemotherapy in the 1st-line treatment for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor -expressing, curatively unresectable (inoperable), advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer carrying the KRAS wildtype gene.

29 Mar 2010

UAB researchers discover first bio-marker for MS

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have found the first bio-marker for multiple sclerosis that might predict which patients will respond to a standard therapy and which will not.

29 Mar 2010

Medtronic announces enrollment of first European patients in randomized controlled trial of ITB Therapy

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the enrollment of the first European patients in the largest randomized controlled trial to date to investigate the benefits of ITB Therapy(R) (Intrathecal Baclofen) in post-stroke patients affected by spasticity. The announcement comes as the World Congress for Neurorehabilitation is taking place in Vienna, Austria.

26 Mar 2010

Biogen Idec and Elan begin comparative trial of MS treatments

Biogen Idec and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today announced enrollment of the first patient in a global Phase IIIb, randomized, rater-blinded, active-controlled study designed to evaluate switching to TYSABRI® (natalizumab) from Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate) or Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

25 Mar 2010

Payers can improve risk-sharing approaches for expensive therapies and technology

Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of scientific information and analytics to the pharmaceutical and biotech fields, announced today that it has published the collective recommendations of an international team of healthcare experts on how payers can improve their risk-sharing approaches for expensive new therapies and technology.

25 Mar 2010

MediciNova reports net loss of $5.9 million for 2009 fourth quarter

MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market and the Hercules Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

25 Mar 2010

Rapidly declining memory in people with cognitive impairment may indicate stage before Alzheimer's disease

Memory and thinking skills may decline rapidly for people who have mild cognitive impairment, which is the stage before Alzheimer's disease when people have mild memory problems but no dementia symptoms, and even more rapidly when dementia begins, which is when Alzheimer's disease is usually diagnosed. The research is published in the March 23, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

23 Mar 2010

You and your baby may need vitamin D supplementation says research

This report appeared in the respected Journal Pediatrics this week. There has been growing awareness regarding deficiency of Vitamin D in children and adults. This vitamin is important for healthy bones, immunity and other bodily processes. In children inadequacy of this vitamin in diet may lead to bone damage, rickets, repeated infections and heart disease in later life.

23 Mar 2010

KMI announces strategic distribution agreement with Mobility to market stroke therapy devices

Kinetic Muscles Inc., a leading developer of stroke therapy technology, today announced a strategic distribution agreement with Mobility Research, also of Tempe, that will allow Mobility to market KMI’s products in specific international markets.

23 Mar 2010

Ultraviolet portion of sunlight may play bigger role in controlling MS: Study

For more than 30 years, scientists have known that multiple sclerosis (MS) is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. Because sunlight is more abundant near the equator, many researchers have wondered if the high levels of vitamin D engendered by sunlight could explain this unusual pattern of prevalence.

23 Mar 2010

ChemoCentryx undertakes Phase II clinical trial of CCX140

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that it has undertaken a Phase II clinical trial of CCX140, a novel, orally-available small molecule compound designed to specifically target the chemokine receptor known as CCR2.

22 Mar 2010

Acorda Therapeutics submits applications to extend patent protection for AMPYRA to USPTO

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company has submitted applications to extend patent protection for AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

22 Mar 2010

Americans to join in Purple Day campaign to support epilepsy awareness

Members of the U.S. House and Senate, children in schools across the country, and employees of workplaces nationwide will wear purple to support epilepsy awareness on March 26. Thousands of Americans will also join the campaign by hosting Purple Day activities in their regions.

22 Mar 2010

AARDA launches campaign on family AQ

In honor of the designation of March as National Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month by the U.S. Senate on March 4, 2010, the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) wants to help you learn your family's AQ. AQ is a play on IQ that stands for Autoimmune Quotient. It's about knowing how likely you or a loved one is to develop an autoimmune disease, based on the prevalence of these diseases and your family history. The campaign features AARDA National Spokesperson and Actress Kellie Martin, best known for her memorable roles on "E.R." and "Life Goes On."

22 Mar 2010

Mayo Clinic co-led research finds first gene linked to lung cancer in "never smokers"

A five-center collaborative study that scanned the genomes of thousands of "never smokers" diagnosed with lung cancer as well as healthy never smokers has found a gene they say could be responsible for a significant number of those cancers.

22 Mar 2010

As reform hangs in balance, policy benefits continue to be discussed

NPR reports on the immediate effects of the proposed health care bill, and that Congressional Democrats are focusing on those benefits in messages to constituents. "The White House is trying to shift the conversation away from the messy legislative process — which Republicans are keying on — and instead focus on what the health care overhaul would do for families and businesses."

19 Mar 2010

Manitoba government: AMD drug Lucentis will be funded through centralized vision program

Manitobans with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) received a dose of good news. The Manitoba government announced that Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) will soon be funded through a centralized vision program, effective June 1, 2010.

18 Mar 2010