Category Archives: MS Treatment

NEWS San Antonio doctor pushes for proactive inpatient rehabilitation Posted TODAY, 5:47 PM Updated TODAY, 7:16 PM SAN ANTONIO - During Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, KSAT has been talking about the difficulty of not only diagnosing the disease but treating it, as well. Now some doctors are pushing for proactive inpatient rehabilitation to reduce severe symptoms. Sherry Rhind was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, and soon, walking had become almost impossible. "Just getting up, getting ready to go to work, for instance, putting your foot in the car, that's very challenging," she said. MS causes the body's immune system to attack the central nervous system, resulting in different symptoms for each patient. "No two MS patients are the same," said Rhind's doctor, Dr. Ivan Edwards, with Select Rehabilitation Hospital. After trying many medications, outpatient and at-home treatments, Rhind ended up at Select for 15 days. "Before I came here I couldn't walk, maybe, 25 feet because I had no mobility whatsoever. Now I can walk maybe 300 feet, which is really good for me," Rhind said. Read more: Choosing the right rehab for MS treatment … Continue reading →

Jayne Morrow, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, with her husband David. A MUM-OF-THREE who suffers from a debilitating neurological condition could soon be making a life-changing journey to Russia. Jayne Morrow, 47, from Ilfracombe, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) eight years ago and has been battling the worsening effects of the condition ever since. For Jayne, who suffers from chronic fatigue and numbness in her hand and torso, this has meant giving up her job as a personal trainer and forfeiting her driving licence. In a bid to combat the condition, Jayne has now secured a place at a Russian clinic, where she will undergo a stem cell treatment known as HSCT. Although the treatment is available on the NHS, it is currently only offered to those in the advanced stages of MS. "Time isn't on my side," Jayne said. "I need it quite quickly everyone who suffers from MS does because it's a progressive illness. "I don't want to be a burden to anybody. I can see in time being a complete write off." More than 100,000 people in the UK are thought to suffer from MS. Although it is not fatal, for those living with the condition … Continue reading →

Dialysis patient Didamain Uibo had to give up her work to move to Darwin for treatment. Northern Territory medical groups have said they are still waiting on $10 million in federal funding to bolster dialysis infrastructure in remote communities. Chronic kidney disease contributes to 15 per cent of hospitalisations and the Territory has the highest rates of sufferers in the world. Menzies School of Health kidney specialist Doctor Paul Lawton said one third of Indigenous people in the Territory need treatment. "We have a problem with an Indigenous population who have many bio-medical risk factors, like diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as social risk factors like poor nutrition and poor living conditions coming together," he said. Indigenous woman Didamain Uibo receives dialysis in Darwin three times a week, despite having a kidney transplant several years ago. She was once a school principal in the Top End community of Numbulwar on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast. "I said goodbye to the workforce, because of the constant treatment," she said. Ms Uibo is one of 550 people receiving dialysis treatment in the Territory, the majority of which have to relocate from their community to regional centres like Darwin or Alice … Continue reading →

WHEN Imogene Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer at 30, she never could have guessed the worst was yet to come. Just weeks later it was revealed son Riley had a golf ball-sized mass growing on his brain. A routine optometrist appointment was the first sign anything was seriously wrong with the bright 10-year-old Onekawa School student. He had been suffering the odd "little headache" which Ms Davidson thought may have been due to problems with his vision. "We went to Spec Savers in Napier two weeks ago, she did some tests that showed he had inflamed nerves behind his eyes, which is not normal for a kid," Ms Davidson says. They saw an ophthalmologist at Hawke's Bay Hospital the following day, which resulted in a referral to the pediatric department for an MRI scan last Tuesday. "We were there at 6.30am, by 11am the doctor called me in and said Riley had a mass growing in his cerebellum at the back of his brain - we were on a plane to Starship by 1pm that afternoon." The 10-year-old underwent seven-hour surgery at Starship Hospital in Auckland on Thursday - the same date Ms Davidson was scheduled to meet a … Continue reading →

The parents of five-year-old Ashya King, who were jailed when they took him abroad for brain cancer treatment, have declared their son has made a "miracle" recovery. They said his life was saved because he was given proton therapy treatment not availablefor him on the NHS in Britain. The Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in Prague, where he received the treatment last year, said it was "thrilled" to hear news that a recent scan showed no sign of a tumour. Naghmeh and Brett King sparked an international manhunt last summer by removing their child from hospital in Southampton without medical consent. Ms King has told the Sun the news was "incredible". "If we had left Ashya with the NHS in Britain, he would not be with us today. He was too weak and would not have survived," she told the newspaper. Ashya was finally allowed to undergo treatment at the PTC for brain cancer after a long legal battle fought by his parents and he has since been recovering in Spain. Jana Kulhankova, marketing director at the centre, said she had not seen the latest scan but has been in regular contact with Ashya's doctor, Hernan Cortes-Funes, since his treatment ended. … Continue reading →

HOUSTON - A groundbreaking new treatment for multiple sclerosis is now available in the United States and is being used to treat patients in Texas. The drug Lemtrada was initially denied approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but the decision was reversed several months ago, after a big outcry from the MS patient community. Lisa Capps was excited to try the new treatment. She'll spend the week hooked up to an intravenous treatment of Lemtrada for about seven hours a day for five days. However, she believes the time spent will be worth it. Other treatments for MS haven't worked for her and said she believes the new treatment could give her a fighting chance. "This was the newest thing out there and what they call the closest to a cure that we can get to MS right now," said Capps. Capps was first diagnosed about a year ago, shortly after her daughter was born. "I have to walk with a cane now and I also have cognitive problems, so I have difficulty thinking, focusing, holding attention," she said. As the disease progresses, it could lead to vision loss, complete inability to walk, urinary and bowel disfunction, the … Continue reading →

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: Sunday, March 22, 2015, 5 a.m. Eastern Time Note to journalists: Please report that this research will be presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only DENVER, March 22, 2015 Chlorine, a disinfectant commonly used in most wastewater treatment plants, may be failing to completely eliminate pharmaceuticals from wastes. As a result, trace levels of these substances get discharged from the plants to the nations waterways. And now, scientists are reporting preliminary studies that show chlorine treatment may encourage the formation of new, unknown antibiotics that could also enter the environment, potentially contributing to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The research, which will be presented today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), suggests that a re-evaluation of wastewater treatment and disinfection practices is needed. The ACS is the worlds largest scientific society. The national meeting, which takes place here through Thursday, features nearly 11,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics. Pharmaceuticals that get out into the environment can harm aquatic life, making them react slowly in the wild and disrupting their hormone systems, notes Olya Keen, Ph.D. She adds … Continue reading →

A coroner has found that an Ipswich woman's death could have been prevented if certain hospital procedures had been implemented. Photo: Joseph Feil A young mother who, in the midst of a psychotic state fell to her death from an Ipswich crane, could still be alive if the warning signs had been recognised and treated, a coroner has found. Mother-of-two Melina Maree Cuttler died in February 2013 after she fell from a crane she had climbed near Ipswich Hospital. A sister and a friend had accompanied Ms Cuttler, 29, to the hospital's emergency department about 1pm. By 3pm, a nurse had assessed Ms Cuttler as "almost certainly psychotic" and requested an evaluation by a psychiatric registrar, an evaluation that never took place. Advertisement "At one point, Melina and her sister had waited outside the ED building while the friend remained in the ED waiting for them to be attended to," deputy state coroner John Lock said. "At some time shortly before 4.40pm, Melina's sister left briefly to return to the waiting room to ask for help from ED staff due to concerns about Melina's behaviour. "When she returned, Melina was not present." Ms Cuttler had crossed the road, entered a … Continue reading →

MS Dhoni's coach was helped out by the Jharkhand Government Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today announced Rupees one lakh for the treatment of ailing Chanchal Bhattacharya, who is a former coach of India cricket captain MS Dhoni. Calling on Bhattacharya, Das said the veteran coach would get the monetary assistance from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, stated an official release. (Dhoni Joins Aussie Greats With a Century of ODI Victories) Wishing him speedy recovery, Das said if required he would also provide aid in his personal capacity. "Bhattacharya is ailing for over one year. He is known as the 'guru' of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whom he coached during his formative years of cricket," the release said. (India Score 11th Straight Win in World Cups) Bhattacharya, who claims to have persuaded Dhoni to take up cricket over his first love football during a district level cricket tournament, is keenly following India's campaign in the ongoing World Cup. "India are two matches away from the coveted cup. I am praying to the Almighty that India repeats history," Bhattacharya said as he congratulated Team India entering the semi-final after beating Bangladesh earlier in the day. See original here: MS Dhoni's Childhood … Continue reading →

IMAGE:Associate professor Guillaume Lessene, Dr. Ueli Nachbur, professor Andrew Lew (L-R) and colleagues developed a new drug-like molecule that prevents inflammation and could lead to a new treatment for MS.... view more Credit: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have developed a new drug-like molecule that can halt inflammation and has shown promise in preventing the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr Ueli Nachbur, Associate Professor John Silke, Associate Professor Guillaume Lessene, Professor Andrew Lew and colleagues developed the molecule inhibit a key signal that triggers inflammation. Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease that damages the central nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. There is no cure and there is a desperate need for new and better treatments. Inflammatory diseases such as MS were triggered by an over-active immune system, Dr Nachbur said. "Inflammation results when our immune cells release hormones called cytokines, which is a normal response to disease," he said. "However when too many cytokines are produced, inflammation can get out-of-control and damage our own body, all of which are hallmarks of immune or inflammatory diseases." To apply the brakes on this runaway immune response, institute researchers developed a … Continue reading →