Category Archives: MS Treatment

Union Point Park is bustling with cyclists and organizers in preparation for the annual Bike MS event. Last year the effort raised $ 1.7 million towards find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. "This year we are hoping for $1.7 Million," says Bike Coordinator Elizabeth Robson, "I checked an we are sitting right around $1.1 million. But we have until October to fund raise." Each cyclist is required to donate at least $300 towards a cure. This year 2,100 cyclists and over 500 volunteers have registered for the event. Last year's top fundraiser, Elizabeth Page, is back again this year. She is the team captain for "Missing Spokes", a team now celebrating its twelfth year participating in Bike MS. Page was diagnosed about eighteen years ago. She says shortly after diagnosis, she had a big realization. "I realized oh m y gosh not only do I have MS, I have a disease that there is no treatment for, no cure," says Page. That realization is what has driven her towards raising awareness across our region. "Well you know people are not aware of just how many folks do have MS. A lot of us are like myself and their walking around … Continue reading →

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Botox is now being used to treat people with multiple sclerosis coping with incontinence. Lisa Fine walks with confidence and little pain. Three months ago that was not the case. "You're walking somewhere and thinking everything is fine and urine just starts streaming down your leg," Fine said. No bladder control is one of the silent symptoms Fine has living with multiple sclerosis: a chronic condition that affects the central nervous system. That was before she was injected with the popular cosmetic treatment, Botox. Dr. Marlene Murphy says, "Botox is a neuro toxin. It stops spasms in muscles whether they are in your face, whether they are in your shoulder or neck or leg or your bladder." Dr. Murphy is a urologist at the Mandell Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mt. Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford. "Basically the way it works, by injecting it into the bladder, it paralyzes a muscle and allows the bladder to hold just like my bladder," Dr. Murphy said. Fine is ecstatic with the results. "I had very little expectations," Fine said. "It blew it away, it blew it away." Read this article: Cosmetic treatment benefits MS patients … Continue reading →

Public release date: 6-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Siok Ming Ong ong_siok_ming@a-star.edu.sg 65-682-66254 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Scientists from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London , discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered. This discovery by the team of scientists led by Professor Antonio Bertoletti, programme director and research director of the infection and immunity programme at SICS, could lead to a paradigm shift in the current treatment of patients with chronic HBV. The findings were published in Gastroenterology on 1st September. Current guidelines from international liver associations recommend delaying therapy until HBV carriers show clear signs of active liver disease, which generally appear after the age of 30 . This is based on two assumptions. One, young patients are unable to react to treatment because they are immune-tolerant to the virus. This means that there is no protective immune response in their body to help them get rid of the virus, and therefore, … Continue reading →

Sept. 8, 2012, midnight Contact with amazing and inspiring breast cancer patients and their families is the best part of the job for newly appointed McGrath Breast Care Nurse Vanessa Hyland. Ms Hyland has been working one day a week at the Dubbo Community Health Centre for the past five years with Specialist Breast Care Nurse Margie Collins. Thanks to funding from the McGrath Foundation Ms Hyland now works four days a week as a McGrath Breast Care Nurse. Based at Dubbo Community Health Centre Ms Hyland has over 18 years experience and became a specialist breast care nurse in 2000. She will provide additional physical, psychological and emotional support for families experiencing breast cancer, from the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment. "My favourite part of the job is definitely the contact with the ladies and their families," she said. "They are amazing people and definitely inspiring." Everyday on the job is different, according to Ms Hyland, who completes tasks such as visiting women who are having surgery or undergoing treatment at the oncology unit, to making follow up phone calls to clients who live in smaller towns surrounding Dubbo. Thanks to the funding provided by the McGrath Foundation … Continue reading →

Shares of Elan (ELN) have been buoyed by two hopeful catalytic events, both of which appear to have gone away. As a result, this stock, which has nearly doubled in the last 18 months and carries a $6.8 billion market valuation, could be poised for a sharp fall. Hope that the company`s drug candidate, bapineuzumab, would become an important treatment for Alzheimer`s disease put momentum behind the shares. But recently, partner Pfizer (PFE) reported that the compound showed no effect in two landmark Phase III trials, snuffing out that dream. More significant is speculation that Elan`s partner for its multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment, Tysabri, could acquire the company for the other half of the drug`s profits. That partner is Biogen Idec (BIIB), which also awaits FDA approval for its next flagship product, BG-12, a revolutionary ORAL treatment for MS. BG-12 has demonstrated strong efficacy results in Phase III trials; is taken by mouth; and has a relatively favorable safety profile. Tysabri, on the other hand, is given by IV infusion and can have severe, even deadly side effects. So why would Biogen waste resources on ELN, when it could simply cannibalize Tysabri sales (50% economics to BIIB) with new sales … Continue reading →

06-09-2012 03:47 A controversial approach to treating multiple sclerosis is now gaining widespread attention. Debilitating headaches led to more research, specifically to a novel procedure: Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency or CCSVI. Here is the original post: Controversial MS treatment has Connecticut link - Video … Continue reading →

Singapore, Sept 6, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - Scientists from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London(1), discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered. This discovery by the team of scientists led by Professor Antonio Bertoletti, programme director and research director of the infection and immunity programme at SICS, could lead to a paradigm shift in the current treatment of patients with chronic HBV. The findings were published in Gastroenterology on 1st September. Current guidelines from international liver associations recommend delaying therapy until HBV carriers show clear signs of active liver disease, which generally appear after the age of 30(2). This is based on two assumptions. One, young patients are unable to react to treatment because they are immune-tolerant to the virus. This means that there is no protective immune response(3) in their body to help them get rid of the virus, and therefore, they will not run the risk of liver damage or inflammation. Two, HBV infection is largely harmless in … Continue reading →

The ACT opposition has accused the government of putting a ''photo opportunity' at the Canberra Hospital ahead of patient treatment. Some patient appointments for radiation therapy at the hospital were rescheduled to a different time of day last month when Chief Minister Katy Gallagher officially launched a new linear accelerator device used to treat cancer. The government said yesterday the date of the launch had been changed at short notice because of the no-confidence motion moved by the Liberals against Ms Gallagher in the Assembly and there had been no intention to inconvenience patients. A Health Directorate spokesman said some appointments had been moved to a different time to protect patient privacy when the media and other visitors attended the launch on August 21. Advertisement Opposition health spokesman Jeremy Hanson said the rescheduling of patient appointments was disgusting and Ms Gallagher should take responsibility for what had occurred. ''I think it's actually disgraceful that she has prioritised her photo op over the cancer patients who have been disrupted by this,'' he said. Mr Hanson said he had spoken with a patient whose appointment time for radiation treatment had been changed to accommodate the ministerial visit to the hospital. The patient … Continue reading →

NORTHFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- A controversial approach to treating multiple sclerosis is now gaining widespread attention. And a small group of Connecticut women diagnosed with MS had a part in it. Jennine Kelley has multiple sclerosis, an often disabling chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. "I started to lose the ability to speak clearly and then I started to lose the ability to use my right hand," Kelley said. Debilitating headaches led to more research, specifically to a novel procedure: Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency or CCSVI. And Joan Beal says, "I wrote about it online. And then other people found out about it." Beal's husband has MS and underwent CCSVI, which was first performed overseas. It gets blood flowing to the brain by using a balloon to open blocked jugular veins. Beal explains, "if you have slowed blood flow going through your brain, you're going to suffer for it." MS symptoms like heat fatigue disappeared. That convinced Kelley to follow suit. Kelley says her doctor, "found both my jugular veins had stenosis on both sides. And then where he found the stenosis, he ballooned it open. Since I had the procedure, I haven't had the headaches." Since … Continue reading →

MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PhotoMedex, Inc. (PHMD) (PHMD.TA) announces that the Companys XTRAC excimer laser was favorably featured in articles that appeared in two dermatology medical trade journals in August 2012. Both articles are available at http://www.photomedex.com/xtrac/index.htm. The Journal of Drugs in Dermatology featured two case studies in an article entitled Treatment of Psoriasis and Long-term Maintenance Using 308 nm Excimer Laser, Clobetasol Spray, and Calcitriol Ointment. The authors include Jillian W. Wong, MS of the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Department of Dermatology, Psoriasis and Skin Treatment Center, as well as Tien V. Nguyen, BA, Tina Bhutani, M.D. and John Y.M. Koo, M.D., colleagues of Ms. Wong at UCSF. The article profiles one patient with a 15-year history of plaque psoriasis and another with a six-year history of plaque psoriasis. In their conclusion, the authors write, Targeted UVB laser therapy is a promising method of treatment especially for many who have failed systemic therapy and traditional phototherapy. This case series shows that the use of the excimer laser may be a feasible way to manage a significant proportion of generalized psoriasis patients possibly more efficaciously than biologic … Continue reading →