Category Archives: MS Treatment

A drug found to slow some of the physical problems and reduce the number of flareups of multiple sclerosis (MS) could also show promise for treating spinal cord injuries, according to a new Japanese study. Researchers from the Jichi Medical University School of Medicine and the Universisty of Tokyo's Graduate School of Medicine found that FTY720, also known as Gilenya, helped mice with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) recover some motor function when they were given the drug immediately after the injuries. FTY720 acts in a number of ways, the study authors wrote. The drug, provided by its manufacturer, Novartis, for this study, suppresses the immune system, which reduces inflammation that occurs after injuries. Inflammatory effects, they explained, can worsen the damage done by SCIs. The drug also helped the mice's damaged tissue regenerate, among other effects. "The main biological activity responsible for these actions is believed to be immunological, but our data suggest that nonimmunological role(s) of FTY720 are also important in the treatment of SCI," they wrote. The drug still needs to be evaluated in larger animals before determining whether it is effective in treating SCIs, but still has promise, the authors added. Experts not involved with the study, … Continue reading →

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 12, 2012 Multiple sclerosis is a life altering disease that affects each person in a unique and different way. MS destroys connections, divides minds from bodies, pulls people from their lives and away from one another. Therefore, its only fitting that connections would be its greatest enemy. As more connections are formed, more knowledge is shared, more questions asked, more resources gathered, and more hope is provided to help people with MS move their lives forward. Connect during MS Awareness Week People impacted by MS are connecting all across the nation during Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week March 12 18 to combine their efforts, knowledge and hope in order to move us closer to a world free of multiple sclerosis. The National MS Society is a prominent force in forging connections among people with MS, friends and colleagues who raise awareness and funds, people who treat those with MS, and people who research ways to stop MS, restore function lost to MS and end MS forever. This has helped move MS in less than two decades from being an untreatable disease to one where there are at least eight treatment options for those with relapsing MS, … Continue reading →

Give What You Know At MSconnection.org New York, NY (PRWEB) March 12, 2012 Connect during MS Awareness Week People impacted by MS are connecting all across the nation during Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week March 12 18 to combine their efforts, knowledge and hope in order to move us closer to a world free of multiple sclerosis. The National MS Society is a prominent force in forging connections among people with MS, friends and colleagues who raise awareness and funds, people who treat those with MS, and people who research ways to stop MS, restore function lost to MS and end MS forever. This has helped move MS in less than two decades from being an untreatable disease to one where there are at least eight treatment options for those with relapsing MS, the most common form of the disease. And there are now even more new therapies speeding through the pipeline offering hope to people with all forms of the disease. This MS Awareness Week and beyond, find the power of connection and visit http://www.MSconnection.org. Just some of the opportunities you will find are: MS Connection a new community all about making meaningful connections when, where and how you want. … Continue reading →

Mayor Combs has issued a proclamation declaring March 12-18 Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week in Rocky Mount. Multiple sclerosis affects more than 13,500 people throughout the Carolinas, said Jen Gawler, PR and Marketing Manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Carolinas Chapter. The City of Rocky Mount encourages all citizens to contribute to efforts to find a cure for this disease. The Greater Carolinas Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is asking everyone to JOIN THE MOVEMENT to end MS now. Rocky Mount residents can show their commitment to the MS movement with simple actions throughout the week. To find out ways to join the movement, and encourage others to join too, visit nationalMSsociety.org/nct: We encourage anyone in our community who has multiple sclerosis, or who has a family member with MS, to learn more about the resources, programs, information and support available through the National MS Society and other similar agencies, Gawler said. Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. We are grateful that the City of Rocky Mount has chosen to support our efforts to create a world … Continue reading →

Chennai, March 10: Women must not walk into the workplace expecting special treatment, said Ms Aruna Jayanthi, CEO, Capgemini India. Working women must think and act like professionals and not enter the workplace feeling special. While recruiting, organisations should look for women. But as they go along the career path, there should not be preferential treatment or reservation for promotions. That is demeaning and no woman wants that, said Ms Jayanthi, at the Women Managers' Convention, organised by the Madras Management Association. Organisations cannot afford to ignore women , Ms Jayanthi said. There are several examples of women adding phenomenal value to organisations. Not just in the IT and banking sectors, but also in manufacturing, she said , taking the example of Ms Poonawalla, former chairperson of Alfa Laval. Ms Jennifer A. McIntyre, Consul-General, US Consulate General, Chennai, said employing women makes eminent business sense. When you elevate the economic potential of women, we elevate the economic performance of the society and the world. Women also account for substantial spending, which in turn boosts the global economy. Gender equality is smart economics. Companies with most women on their boards outperform those with the least, said Ms McIntyre. swethak@thehindu.co.in See original … Continue reading →

Tucker, GAAmerican Proteins, Cuthbert, GA, and Sanderson Farms, Flowood, MS, were selected as winners of U.S. Poultry & Egg Associations 2012 Clean Water Awards. Presented annually, the awards recognize excellence in the operation of wastewater treatment plants in the poultry industry. The presentations were made during USPOULTRYs Environmental Management Seminar in Nashville, with the winners being selected by a committee made up of industry engineers and managers, university personnel, and state regulatory officials. Awards are presented in two categories, full treatment and pretreatment. The full treatment category covers facilities that fully reclaim wastewater prior to discharge into a receiving stream or final land application system. The pretreatment category includes facilities that discharge pretreated effluent to publicly owned, full treatment facilities. American Proteins was selected as the winner in the full treatment category after being runner-up last year. The American Proteins plant in Cuthbert recycles inedible poultry parts into valuable protein ingredients used in products such as pet food and livestock feed. Through an aggressive water conservation program, 17 million gallons of water are recycled every day. One highlight of their operation is a new state of the art analytical laboratory, which has decreased the analysis time on wastewater samples. Here … Continue reading →

Reviewed by Neil Lava, MD When you're first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), so many different thoughts and worries can race through your mind. How will it affect my life? Will I be able to work? Will I lose my ability to walk? Having MS today is a lot different than it was a few decades ago. Medications like interferon beta, glatiramer acetate (Copaxone), and natalizumab (Tysabri) have literally changed the course of this disease -- for the better. Multiple Sclerosis Medications Ampyra (dalfampridine) Aventyl HCI (nortriptyline) Avonex (interferon beta-1a) Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) Carbatrol (carbamazepine) Copaxone (glatiramer) Dantrium (dantrolene) Decadron (dexamethasone) Duralone (methylprednisolone) Endep (amitriptyline) Epitol (carbamazepine) Extavia (interferon beta-1b) Klonopin (clonazepam) Lioresal (baclofen) Medipred (methylprednisolone) Medralone ... Read the Multiple Sclerosis Medications article > > MS drugs are very effective, but they're not perfect. All of them can have side effects. Most side effects are minor, but a few -- though rare -- can be more serious. The drugs that are usually prescribed first for MS -- which include the interferons (Betaseron, Avonex, Rebif, Extavia) and Copaxone -- are considered to be very safe. "Literally with the interferons, hundreds of thousands of patients around the world have taken these … Continue reading →

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., March 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immunomedics, Inc. (Nasdaq:IMMU - News), a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today announced that Ms. Marcella LoCastro, CPA.CITP, has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors. Ms. LoCastro is the Chief Executive Officer of MLoCastro Consulting LLC, and provides Women's Leadership Training for public accounting and professional services firms, as well as the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. Previously, she served as a Managing Partner at Tatum, LLC, a national professional services firm, Managing Director at SolomonEdwardsGroup, LLC, a national CFO services firm, and has held Partner roles with Deloitte LLP, JH Cohn LLP, Arthur Andersen LLP and Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. LoCastro currently serves on the Board and the Audit Committee of BioClinica, Inc. (Nasdaq:BIOC - News); as a Senior Advisor on an Industry Advisory Board for Alvarez and Marsal; and as a board member of several professional and educational organizations. The Board of Directors will recommend the election of Ms. LoCastro in the 2012 proxy, which is expected to be distributed at the end of October. "Marcella has … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that pregnancy may decrease women's risk of developing multiple sclerosis. "Even one pregnancy was associated with nearly a halving of risk [of developing MS symptoms]," said study author Anne-Louise Ponsonby, head of the environmental and genetic epidemiology and research group at Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia. The team also found that women who were pregnant two or more times had only one-quarter of the risk of developing MS symptoms as those who were never pregnant. The study was published online March 7 in the journal Neurology. Previous research has found that pregnancy in women who already have MS -- an autoimmune disorder -- is linked with lower rates of relapse. Ponsonby's team found an association between pregnancy and a lower risk of MS symptoms, not a direct cause-and-effect link. They say, however, that this association may help explain why the incidence of MS in women has inched up over the past few decades, as more women delay pregnancy or have fewer babies or none at all. The researchers evaluated information on 282 Australian men and women, aged 18 to 59, who had MS symptoms -- which can include fatigue, … Continue reading →

Daniel Acker / Bloomberg Pump prices have slipped less than a penny a gallon. Novartis AG's Gilenya multiple sclerosis pill lost market share for the first time in January, following the deaths of some patients soon after taking the first pill available for the disease in the United States. Gilenya's share of the U.S. market for so-called immunomodulatory drugs against MS fell to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent in December, according to data from Wolters Kluwer NV, a market research company. The decline was the first after 15 months of growth, at a median of 15 percent a month, since the treatment received U.S. regulatory approval in September 2010. The Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency are investigating 11 deaths among Gilenya patients. In the past month, analysts have cut their forecasts for peak sales of Gilenya by 10 percent to $2.1 billion in 2016, according to the average of six estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The deaths have "made me a little more cautious," said Aaron Miller, chief medical officer of the U.S. National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and a medical director at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. "I am not somebody who has recommended Gilenya as … Continue reading →