Category Archives: MS Treatment

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - Health advocates say they're seeing more people diagnosed as HIV positive having to forgo treatment because they can't afford a ride to the doctor. On Wednesday, some South Mississippi community members gathered in Gulfport to talk about how to stop the spread of HIV and about the plight of those in our community already living with the virus. AIDS and HIV advocates said within the six southernmost counties, the Coastal Family Health Center in Biloxi is the only place uninsured HIV patients can go to receive treatment. For patients who live farther away, the South Mississippi Aids Task Force tries to help with transportation, but the organization doesn't always have money to do that. "It creates frustration on the part of us as an organization, because we want to make sure that everybody who is identified as HIV positive gets the care that they need," said Theresa Youngblood, South Mississippi AIDS Task Force Director. "But also, frustration on the part of that individual because the statistics indicate they're less likely to get treatment as is. Then you have all the obstacles of being able to get there, and very few people are getting the service that … Continue reading →

Springs School students Colin and Katalina Rodriguez lost their mother, Darcy Rodriguez, in the blink of an eye.Ms. Rodriguez learned in September that she had terminal lung cancer, a diagnosis that came too late for treatment. She quickly arranged for a childhood friend to take care of her son and daughter after her death, which came on October 30. Colin, 13, and Katalina, 11, now live with Ms. Rodriguezs friend Carla Gagliotti, who promised shed take care of the twosome as best as she could. With two children of her own, 16-year-old Catherine and 22-year-old Alec, and a few rescue dogs, Ms. Gagliotti was afraid she wouldnt be able to fulfill her promise. But with help from the community, she is now more hopeful. Amagansett resident Allison Lupo put together a quick fundraiser on November 1 at the website gofundme.com, where, as of Monday, she had raised nearly $12,000 to help feed, clothe and provide for the family. Her original goal was $5,000. Ms. Lupo, who used to babysit Ms. Rodriguez growing up in Amagansett, said she felt she had to do something when she found out that Colin and Katalina were without their mother. It was shocking, because no … Continue reading →

Nov. 20, 2014, noon A MONTH after returning from Moscow where he received ground-breaking treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Albion Park Rails Troy Eccleston is starting to show marked signs of improvement. Ainslie Sackey and Troy Eccleston at their Albion Park Rail home on Thursday. Picture: GEORGIA MATTS A MONTH after returning from Moscow where he received ground-breaking treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Albion Park Rails Troy Eccleston is starting to show marked signs of improvement. Thanks to the tremendous support of family and friends, more than $70,000 was raised to send him to PirigovMedical Surgical Centre, Russia. Troyis now back home and has already noticed some of the effects of the disease easing and he is feeling much stronger. I have a 100 percent improvement in my leg rigidity and spasticity, my heat intolerance has eased and there is around 80 percent improvement in colunas (involuntary bouncing) of my legs, Mr Eccleston said. When I returned from Russia I was very weak as a result of my treatment and the long flight and required lots of rest and good food to help me recuperate, but I am getting noticeably stronger each day. I have just started walking short distances … Continue reading →

Family rejects coroner decision: Bodybuilder Luke Wood died at Westmead Hospital after a kidney transplant. Photo: Supplied The treatment given to a champion Australian bodybuilder in the hours before he died on the operating table at Westmead Hospital was marred by "missed opportunities", a NSW coroner has found. But the coroner concluded that Luke Wood - known as 'Big Luke' in the bodybuilding community was so sick that it was unlikely he would have survived even if doctors had done better. The findings handed down in the NSW Coroner's Court were immediately rejected by the Wood family, who said that they "totally disagreed" with what Deputy NSW Coroner Sharon Freund had concluded. Mr Wood, 25, a six-time winner of the Australian Body Building Championships, died on August 31, 2011 - 11 days after he underwent kidneytransplant surgery. Advertisement His family said he was forced to leave hospital too soon after the transplant operation and that in the days after the surgery doctors did not give due attention to the severe bruising on his abdomen, thighs and genital area. "We heard four days of evidence about treatment and care that was completely inappropriate," Mr Wood's brother, Adam, said. "We're never going … Continue reading →

Sanofi 's ( SNY ) Lemtrada has finally gained FDA approval for the treatment of patients suffering from relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The drug's U.S. indication is however restricted to patients who have responded inadequately to two or more MS drugs. Lemtrada's label in the U.S. comes with a boxed warning stating that there is a risk of serious, sometimes fatal autoimmune conditions as well as serious and life-threatening infusion reactions. The drug may also cause an increased risk of malignancies including thyroid cancer, melanoma and lymphoproliferative disorders. Moreover, the drug will be available under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy. Lemtrada's road to approval has not been smooth. Towards the end of last year, the FDA had issued a complete response letter for Lemtrada. Lemtrada is already approved in over 40 countries around the globe including the EU, Canada and Australia. The drug is also under review in several other countries. Sanofi has an agreement with Bayer ( BAYRY ) to co-promote Lemtrada in the U.S. However, Sanofi holds worldwide rights to the development and commercialization of Lemtrada for MS. Our Take The FDA approval of Lemtrada is a positive development for Sanofi, which needs to bring … Continue reading →

Health News of Monday, 17 November 2014 Source: GNA Ms Anastasia Atiogbe, the Birim Central Municipal Director of Health Service, has said most blindness and eye disorders were preventable. She appealed to people suffering from eye disorders to report early at hospitals for diagnosis and treatment. Ms Atiogbe was speaking to the GNA Media Auditing and Development Tracking team after opening a training workshop for 60 primary eye care volunteers at Akyem Oda. The participants included teachers, chemical sellers and Community Health Nurses. Operation Eye Sight Universal, a Canada-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), with funding from Standard Chartered Bank organized the workshop. Ms Atiogbe said the workshop was to equip the participants with skills to be able to detect eye disorders and refer them to health centres for treatment. Dr Michael Owusu Kyei, an Optometrist at the Akyem Oda Government Hospital, mentioned some eye conditions as blur vision and red eyes among others. Excerpt from: Health official says eye disorders are preventable … Continue reading →

David Osmond kicked off the opening ceremony at the Walk MS: Houston event on Sunday, Nov. 10. For David, the fundraising event for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society was part of his personal mission to bring more awareness to MS diagnosis and treatment. Both he and his father, Alan, have been diagnosed with MS. The younger Osmond recently wrote I Can Do This, a song to inspire other people living with MS. The song is available as a free download at the Our Voice in Song website. Osmond partnered with Novartis Pharmaceuticals to create the website to share diet and fitness tips and help educate people about Relapsing MS. There are four types of MS. Alan Osmond was diagnosed with Progressive MS. As the name implies, it generally progresses until the person relies on a wheelchair. With Relapsing MS, an attack may last weeks, months or years, then go away for months or years. Since he was diagnosed with Relapsing MS at age 26, Osmond has become an advocate for the MS community. If theres one thing I want people to know, Osmond said, its that there is hope, and there is community. There is support and unconditional love. Im … Continue reading →

Kate Carlyle remains optimistic a donor will be found despite her sister being unable to perform the procedure while pregnant. Picture: Jack Tran Source: News Limited KATE Carlyle was sitting in a Gold Coast coffee shop just days before starting the cancer treatment that could save her life. Her sister Kristi Howard considered her perfect bone marrow match after a double mastectomy and multiple chemotherapy and radiation treatments was sitting opposite. She looked dreadful ... all the colour had drained from her face, Ms Carlyle said. Then she burst into tears. In a heartbreaking twist, Kates sister was pregnant, meaning it would be a year and a half before she was clear to provide the marrow badly needed to keep Ms Carlyle alive. Sadly, the 36-year-old does not have 18 months. CARLYLE FACES RARE BLOOD CANCER IN THIRD BATTLE AGAINST DISEASE I was shocked, but not distressed, Ms Carlyle said from a Brisbane hospital bed between chemotherapy treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia. The reality is that beautiful life might compromise mine from continuing. Im very ill. Im surviving on blood transfusions. Originally posted here: Heartbreaking twist in marrow search … Continue reading →

Andy McMillan for The New York Times Kristen Lennon hid in a bathroom while calling 911 to say that Phillip Merling, who was then a Miami Dolphins player and her fianc, hit her in May 2010. Even after sheriffs deputies arrived at her Weston, Fla., home, Kristen Lennon remained in the bathroom, afraid to leave. Minutes earlier, she had fled there for safety as she called 911, telling the operator that her fianc had thrown her on the bed and hit her in the face and head. She was two months pregnant. Please help, Ms. Lennon said, her voice shaking. Hes way bigger than me. The couples first child was nearby in their bedroom. On the other side of the bathroom door was Phillip Merling, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound defensive end for the Miami Dolphins. When deputies from the Broward County Sheriffs Office arrived at about 1:30 a.m. on May 27, 2010, they found Ms. Lennon with redness and swelling on her face and a cut on her lip. What happened next illustrated how relationships between National Football League teams and local law enforcement agencies can lead to special treatment for players. Minutes after Mr. Merling was taken into custody, Stuart … Continue reading →

Genzyme's Lemtrada Approved by the FDA - Approval Establishes Genzyme's MS Franchise in the U.S. with Two Approved Products; Follows Global Approvals - Paris - November 15, 2014 - Sanofi and its subsidiary Genzyme announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LemtradaTM (alemtuzumab) for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Because of its safety profile, the use of Lemtrada should generally be reserved for patients who have had an inadequate response to two or more drugs indicated for the treatment of MS. "Today's approval is the culmination of more than a decade of work by Genzyme to develop Lemtrada," said Genzyme President and CEO, David Meeker. "Lemtrada demonstrated superior efficacy over Rebif on annualized relapse rates in the two studies which were the basis for approval. A comprehensive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) will be instituted in order to help detect and manage the serious risks identified with treatment." The FDA approval of Lemtrada is based on two pivotal randomized Phase III open-label rater-blinded studies comparing treatment with Lemtrada to Rebif (high-dose subcutaneous interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing remitting MS who were either new to treatment (CARE-MS I) … Continue reading →