Multiple Sclerosis News and Research

Latest Multiple Sclerosis News and Research

IgG, an immune system antibody significantly higher in spinal fluid of blacks with MS

An antibody frequently used as a diagnostic marker for multiple sclerosis (MS) is present at greater levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of blacks with MS than Caucasians with the disease.

4 Jul 2007

Fibrinogen protein may inhibit spinal cord regeneration

Fibrinogen, a blood-clotting protein found in circulating blood, has been found to inhibit the growth of central nervous system neuronal cells, a process that is necessary for the regeneration of the spinal cord after traumatic injury.

4 Jul 2007

Men and women with multiple sclerosis equally transmit the genetic risk of the disease to their children

The research contradicts the results of a recent study, which found affected fathers were more likely than affected mothers to transmit the risk of developing MS to their children.

28 Jun 2007

An active mind in old age reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease

How often old people read a newspaper, play chess, or engage in other mentally stimulating activities is related to risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published June 27, 2007, in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Jun 2007

CARS microscopy reveals clues to myelin damage

Researchers have discovered that calcium ions could play a crucial role in multiple sclerosis by activating enzymes that degrade the fatty sheath that insulates nerve fibers.

28 Jun 2007

Scientists discover a new line of communication between nervous system cells

In a host of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and several neuropathies, the protective covering surrounding the nerves - an insulating material called myelin - is damaged.

27 Jun 2007

New insight into the mechanism by which glial cells recognize and myelinate axons

In a host of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and several neuropathies, the protective covering surrounding the nerves - an insulating material called myelin - is damaged.

27 Jun 2007

Costs of disorders of the brain in Europe

In 2004 there were about 46 million cases of neurological diseases such as epilepsy, migraines, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke among the 466 million inhabitants of the EU (excluding the two new members Romania and Bulgaria, but including the non-members Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).

20 Jun 2007

50 million Europeans suffer from neurological diseases

About 50 million people in the EU suffer from neurological diseases such as epilepsy, migraines, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, strokes and dementia.

18 Jun 2007

Researchers clarify alphaB-crystallin's role in multiple sclerosis

A protein found primarily in the lens of the eye could be the critical "tipping point" in the spiral of inflammation and damage that occurs in multiple sclerosis, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine report.

18 Jun 2007

Myelin and Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

14 Jun 2007

Vitamin D significantly reduces the risk of cancer

Scientists say most people in North America are not taking enough vitamin D, and that could increase their risk for developing cancer quite significantly.

11 Jun 2007

Largest ever genetics study of common diseases

The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, the largest ever study of the genetics behind common diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease, publishes its results in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics.

8 Jun 2007

Natalizumab returns to market

Just months after receiving FDA approval, natalizumab, a medication for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory disorders, was voluntarily withdrawn by its manufacturers after three patients developed a brain infection known as Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).

28 May 2007

New high-tech rehabilitation device helps stroke patients walk

Among stroke survivors, one common difficulty is foot drop, a partial leg paralysis that prevents the foot from lifting -- causing instability and difficulty walking.

28 May 2007

New gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain

Early-stage research has found that a new gene therapy can nearly eliminate arthritis pain, and significantly reduce long-term damage to the affected joints, according to a study published today in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

28 May 2007

Minimally invasive device for treating recurrent stress urinary incontinence in women, safe and effective

A minimally invasive device for treating recurrent stress urinary incontinence in women has been shown to be safe and effective in early clinical trials and is now under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), says Emory University School of Medicine urologist and trial co-principal investigator Niall Galloway, MD.

24 May 2007

Natural immune-control system may aid treatment of autoimmune disease and tissue rejection

The immune system's ability to police itself may offer a new method of arresting the cells responsible for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and for the rejection of transplanted organs and tissues, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report in a study in the May issue of the journal Immunity.

18 May 2007

Possible neuroprotective effect of testosterone treatment in men

A small pilot study suggests that testosterone treatment is safe, well tolerated and may reduce symptoms, slow brain degeneration and increase muscle mass in men with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 May 2007

Testosterone gel helps men multiple sclerosis

Close on the heels of a large-scale clinical trial just underway to confirm that the female hormone estriol combats the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) in women, a just completed pilot study at UCLA now shows promise for the use of testosterone to combat its effects in men.

16 May 2007