Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Multiple Sclerosis News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/multiple_sclerosis/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170153.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170153.php In diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cells of the immune system infiltrate the brain tissue, where they cause immense damage. For many years, it was an enigma as to how these cells can escape from the bloodstream. This is no trivial feat, given that specialized blood vessels act as a barrier between the nervous system and the bloodstream. Until now, tissue sections provided the sole evidence that the immune cells really do manage to reach the nerve cells. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169951.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169951.php People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have relapses within the first five years of onset appear to have more severe disability in the short term compared to people who do not have an early relapse, according to a new study published in the November 4, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study is one of the first to examine how MS relapses affect people during different time periods of the disease. Multiple Sclerosis Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169587.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169587.php Stem cells isolated from the brain of adult mice (adult neural stem cells [aNSCs]) have shown very modest therapeutic effects in a mouse model of the chronic inflammatory neurodegenerative disease multiple sclerosis. But now, Guang-Xian Zhang and colleagues, at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, have developed an approach to enhance the therapeutic effects of aNSCs in this model of multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169329.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169329.php Currently, 5 - 8% of the U.S. population is afflicted with an autoimmune disease. Many of these are chronic and require life-long care. Moreover, different autoimmune diseases aggregate within a single family, suggesting they are caused by disruptions in common biological pathways. To help researchers investigate these common pathways, The Jackson Laboratory has published Pathways to Discovery: Autoimmune Diseases ( Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168828.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168828.php The National MS Society has just committed $9.2 million to launch 26 new MS research projects as part of its comprehensive research program and commitment to move research forward. This investment comes despite a challenging economic environ¬ment, and is the latest in the Society's relentless research effort to stop MS, restore function, and end this disease forever. Multiple Sclerosis Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168826.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168826.php Today the EMEA, the European equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, released a statement indicating that one of its advisory committees was launching a review of the risks and benefits of Multiple Sclerosis Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168653.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168653.php Neurologists at the University at Buffalo are beginning a research study that could overturn the prevailing wisdom on the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers will test the possibility that the symptoms of MS result from narrowing of the primary veins outside the skull, a condition called "chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency," or CCSVI. (For more details on the study, go to http://www. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168235.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168235.php The lives of 100,000 Multiple Sclerosis sufferers in the UK could be greatly improved while saving the NHS £300 million a year. The claim comes from the LDN Research Trust ahead of the first International LDN Awareness Week which begins this monday. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167488.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167488.php Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs (PCNSD) Advisory Committee voted 12 to 1 that clinical data on Fampridine-SR 10 mg twice daily demonstrated substantial evidence of effectiveness as a treatment to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and voted 10 to 2 (1 abstention) that it is clinically meaningful and can be safe for use. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167426.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167426.php While gripping, lifting or manipulating an object such as drinking from a cup or placing a book on a shelf is usually easy for most, it can be challenging for those with neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's, or for people who had a stroke. For them, the tight gripping can cause fatigue, making everyday tasks difficult. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167405.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167405.php On Saturday, October 17, leading MS researchers from around the country will meet at the Hyatt Regency, Boston to evaluate the feasibility of conducting what would be the largest clinical study ever undertaken to explore the role that Vitamin D may play in Multiple Sclerosis. The meeting will be led by Dr. Multiple Sclerosis Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167118.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167118.php CQ Politics reports that Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Ohio, is one of several women lawmakers who is using her own history with multiple sclerosis to lobby for changes in the health care system: "As the health care debate rages on, [Kilroy] has decided to use her personal story to help fellow lawmakers understand how important it is to make health care available for all Americans. Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167052.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167052.php Researchers the UK found that learning to juggle boosts brain connections by making structural changes in the white matter of the brain. They hope the study will help develop new treatments for diseases such as multiple sclerosis where central nervous system pathways have become degraded. Neurology / Neuroscience Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165953.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165953.php Researchers of the Unit for Systems Biology of the University of Jaén, led by Francisco J. Esteban, are developing a software for clinical use to detect multiple sclerosis even before the typical brain damage of this neurodegenerative disease appear. In order to do so, this scientific multidisciplinary team is calculating the fractal dimension of the brain images registered on magnetic resonance imaging. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165831.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165831.php Drug manufacturer Novartis has announced further results from its phase III study of the oral pill fingolimod (FTY-720) in people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The results are from a two-year phase III study called FREEDOMS trial and show that the tablet can reduce relapses by up to 60% and disability progression by up to 32% in people with relapsing remitting MS. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165782.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165782.php EMD Serono, Inc. an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Cladribine Tablets, EMD Serono's proprietary investigational oral formulation of cladribine, as a therapy for reducing relapses in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164947.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164947.php For scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, what seemed like a disappointing result turned out to be an important discovery. Their findings, published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provide conclusive proof that, when a muscle is injured, white blood cells called macrophages play a crucial role in its regeneration. Multiple Sclerosis Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164907.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164907.php Disability charities Leonard Cheshire Disability, Mencap and the MS Society are moving away from the traditional political party conference fringe event this year by organising a 'speed-debating' event on adult social care. The charity trio are holding the innovative events, which will also incorporate Twitter, at the upcoming party conferences in a bid to seek cross-party views from MPs on social care reform. Multiple Sclerosis Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164719.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164719.php Roads were closed in central London on Saturday as a new high-powered, six tonne MRI scanner was installed at the UCL Institute of Neurology in Queen Square. Funded by the MS Society, the £1.4million, high-field 3 Tesla scanner was installed by crane and will enable a new programme of dedicated imaging research into the debilitating neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS). MRI / PET / Ultrasound Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164247.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164247.php With over $41 million raised, five regional research and training centres launched and a growing number of educational events aimed at MS researchers and trainees, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada proudly marked one year since the launch of its endMS capital campaign. "The achievements since the Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164191.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164191.php Data from two long-term open-label extension studies of Fampridine-SR show that 86.0% of participants remained on therapy after a maximum treatment time of 15 months in study MS-F204EXT, and 69.5% remained on therapy after a maximum treatment time of 36 months in study MS-F203EXT. The average treatment time for all patients was 10 months in the MS-F204EXT study and 26 months in the MS-F203EXT study, both inclusive of dropouts. Multiple Sclerosis Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164082.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164082.php British researchers have made a new discovery about how the immune system works. The findings, published in the journal Nature Immunology, looked at a specific subset of immune cells called Natural Killer (NK) cells. NK cells are specialised immune cells that play a role in killing and removing infected or unhealthy cells, which include cancerous cells. Immune System / Vaccines Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163896.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163896.php Artielle ImmunoTherapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company announced the presentation of "Results of a Phase 1 safety study of RTL1000, a recombinant T-Cell receptor ligand specific for an immunodominant MOG peptide, in multiple sclerosis." The results were presented yesterday by one of Artielle's founding scientists, Arthur Vandenbark, Ph.D., at the Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies in Florence, Italy. Multiple Sclerosis Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163818.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163818.php A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients' outcomes. This study was presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2009. Multiple Sclerosis Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163820.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163820.php Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) have announced six-month results of an ongoing, one-year longitudinal, observational, patient-reported outcomes study showing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking TYSABRI® (natalizumab) experienced an improvement in both their physical function and psychological well-being. Findings from the study, which was performed in conjunction with HealthCore Inc. Multiple Sclerosis