Category Archives: MS Treatment

New MS Treatment Giving Hope To Patients There's a new treatment for MS patients who've tried everything and have yet to find something that works for them; KDKA's Dr. Maria Simbra reports. FULL STORY: http://cbsloc.al/1NXa56U. By: CBS Pittsburgh … Continue reading →

Benefits of modified Story Memory Technique may be adversely affected by deficit in processing speed IMAGE:Dr. Chiaravalloti is director of Neuropsychology, Neuroscience and TBI Research at Kessler Foundation, and project director of the Northern New Jersey TBI Model System. view more Credit: Kessler Foundation WEST ORANGE, NJ April 10, 2015. Kessler Foundation researchers published a subanalysis of their MEMREHAB trial, which shows that treatment with the modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) may be affected by cognitive dysfunction. Investigators looked at the influence of processing speed on benefits of the mSMT, a 10-session cognitive intervention protocol shown to improve new learning and memory in individuals with MS. The influence of cognitive dysfunction on benefit from learning and memory rehabilitation in MS: A subanalysis of the MEMREHAB trial, was published online ahead of print on February 6 by Multiple Sclerosis Journal (doi: 10.1177/1352458514567726). The authors are John DeLuca, PhD, and Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, of Kessler Foundation. Deficits in processing speed, which are common in MS, have been shown to adversely affect cognitive and everyday functioning. "This evidence supports the need to investigate the influence of processing speed in performance on cognitive interventions," said Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of Neuroscience & Neuropsychology and … Continue reading →

In an order likely to have far-reaching effects, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that private hospitals could neither turn away victims of acid attack nor wash their hands of after providing first aid. The court made it mandatory for these hospitals across the country to provide full and free medical treatment to the victims. The order said the term treatment included reconstructive surgery, free medicines, bed, rehabilitation and aftercare. The order came on a public interest litigation petition filed by Laxmi, an acid attack victim, following nine years of fighting for the rights of victims. Ms. Laxmi was only 15 when three men, one of whom she had refused to marry, threw acid on her near Tughlaq Road in New Delhi. She has been fighting a lonely battle since 2006 in the Supreme Court, and in the process, succeeded in getting the Indian Penal Code amended to make acid attack a special offence. She further persuaded the court to increase the compensation for victims to Rs. 3 lakh, besides procuring a complete ban on over-the-counter sale of acid. Fridays order dealt with Ms. Laxmis final demand for getting victims proper treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation. In its order, the Social … Continue reading →

CBS Pittsburgh (con't) Affordable Care Act Updates: CBSPittsburgh.com/ACA Health News & Information: CBSPittsburgh.com/Health PITTSBURGH (KDKA) Theres a new treatment for MS patients whove tried everything and have yet to find something that works for them. Its not cheap, but it is providing new hope for patients who feel like theyve run out of options. Barbara Baird has had multiple sclerosis for 27 years. I walk with a walker, Ive walked with a cane, she said, Ive been in a wheelchair, Ive been in bed. So Ive had a lot of different symptoms. It used to be there were no medications to treat it. Over the past two decades, about a dozen medicines have come along. Shes tried them all to reduce inflammation and to soothe the immune system. Now a new medication, originally used for cancer, has been FDA approved for MS. Its called Lemtrada. Im hoping that this would be one that might work for me, said Baird. See more here: New MS Treatment Giving Hope To Patients … Continue reading →

DRUGS for heart disease, depression and motor neurone disease could be the key for a treatment for multiple sclerosis. A new drug trial based at Oxfords John Radcliffe Hospital will ask 440 MS sufferers to try the alternative therapies to see if they have any effect. Oxford is one of 14 trial sites across England and Scotland to participate in the MS-SMART trial. Researchers will test the safety and effectiveness of heart disease drug amiloride, fluoxetine which is used to treat depression, and motor neurone disease treatment riluzole over two years in 440 people with an advanced and untreatable progressive form of MS. All three drugs have shown the potential to protect nerves from damage, which could ultimately slow or stop the progression of disease. If it is successful, scientists will start developing drugs that they say could potentially revolutionise the way MS is treated. Witney MS victim Roger Keable, 67, sufferers from spasticity in his left leg, fatigue, depression and incontinence and said a treatment option would change his life. He said: There is nothing out there right now for people with secondary progressive MS, sometimes it can feel like were the forgotten end of the MS spectrum. Research … Continue reading →

By Joe Kay April 10 at 1:26 PM Lauren Hill spent her final year polishing a layup and inspiring others to live fully. She succeeded at both as she fought an inoperable brain tumor. The 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati died April 10 at a Cincinnati hospital, the co-founder of her nonprofit foundation, Brooke Desserich, told the Associated Press. Ms. Hills nonprofit foundation helped to raise more than $1.5 million for cancer research. She not only became a spotlight on the lack of funding for cancer research, but she most certainly has become a beacon guiding researchers for years to come, Desserich said. A year and a half ago, Ms. Hill was just another high school student getting ready for college. She decided to play basketball at Mount St. Joseph, a Division III school. Soccer was her favorite sport, but basketball became her selling point. A few weeks later, she started experiencing dizziness while playing for her high school team in Lawrenceburg, Ind. Tests found the tumor. Treatment didnt work. She knew she had less than two years left. Im spreading awareness and also teaching people how to live in the moment because the … Continue reading →

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter Latest Infectious Disease News WEDNESDAY, April 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- An active ingredient in some psoriasis and multiple sclerosis medications has been linked to two cases of a rare and sometimes lethal brain infection. The ingredient, dimethyl fumarate, appears to have contributed to the deaths of two European women. The women contracted progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, according to two letters published in the April 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. One case involved a 54-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis. She died in October 2014 from complications related to PML and pneumonia, following 4.5 years of treatment with a time-delayed form of dimethyl fumarate carrying the brand name Tecfidera, researchers reported. The second case was a 64-year-old woman with psoriasis. She died in August 2014 from PML after being treated with a delayed-release dimethyl fumarate compound with the brand name Psorinovo for two years, according to the researchers. These cases follow reports linking other drugs containing dimethyl fumarate with PML, including Tysabri and Fumaderm, the researchers said. However, the latest case reports do not prove that dimethyl fumerate caused the PML infections. And outside experts said cases of PML occur rarely … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has committed $28 million to support an expected 84 new MS research projects and training awards. These are part of a comprehensive research strategy aimed at stopping MS, restoring function that has been lost, and ending the disease forever for every single person with MS. This financial commitment is the latest in the Society's relentless research efforts to move us closer to a world free of MS, and part of a projected investment of over $52 million in 2015 alone to support 380 new and ongoing studies around the world. So that no opportunity is wasted, the Society pursues all promising paths, while focusing on priority areas including progressive MS, nervous system repair, gene/environmental risk factors and wellness and lifestyle. Just a few of the new cutting-edge research projects include a University of California, San Francisco-led consortium focusing on a comprehensive analysis of the gut microbiome to develop probiotic strategies for stopping progressive MS; a pilot trial at Johns Hopkins University exploring the tolerability of a diet that intermittently restricts calorie intake as a treatment for disease activity in people with MS; pre-clinical studies by a commercial firm … Continue reading →

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MedDay, a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of nervous system disorders, today provided further information about the design of its pivotal clinical trial (MS-SPI) to investigate the efficacy and safety of MD1003 in the treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, a major area of unmet medical need. Data from the MS-SPI study will be presented at the Clinical Trials Plenary Session at The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, Washington DC, on Friday April 24th at 1200 EST. MS-SPI is a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled (2:1) trial of MD1003, 300 mg/day, in patients with progressive MS who have demonstrated progression in the 2 years prior to enrolment. A total of 154 patients with a baseline EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) score of between 4.5 and 7 were enrolled from 16 MS reference centers across France. Treatment duration was one year. The primary endpoint for the study was defined as the proportion of patients who improved at nine months (M9), with confirmation at 12 months (M12). Improvement was defined as either a decrease in EDSS (by at least 1 point for baseline EDSS 5.5 and 0.5 points for EDSS 6) or an improvement in TW25 (a … Continue reading →

Updated: 04/06/2015 10:21 PM Created: 04/06/2015 7:29 PM KSTP.com By: Joe Mazan A groundbreaking new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) is now available in the U.S. and is being used to treat patients in Minnesota. The drug Lemtrada was initially denied approval by the Food and Drug Administration but the decision was reversed, after a big outcry from the MS patient community. Whereas other treatments include daily pills or injections, Lemtrada is given for five straight days the first year, followed by three consecutive days 12 months later. "Symptoms do tend to improve over the long haul," Dr. Jonathan Calkwood, with Schapiro Center for MS, said. "We see this with some more of the highly effective therapies where day to day neurological symptoms improve but our goal really is to prevent long term disability." It's estimated MS affects more than 2 million people throughout the world, including 400,000 people in the U.S. Continue reading here: Groundbreaking New MS Treatment Available in Minn. … Continue reading →