Category Archives: MS Treatment

Genzyme, a subsidiary of Sanofi (SNY), announced this morning that the FDA has returned the company`s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Lemtrada on grounds that the presented data needs reorganization. Genzyme submitted the drug for review in June of this year and hoped for a Priority Review designation to allow for faster commercialization, as early as six months from an acceptance date if granted. The FDA`s Refusal to File (RTF) does not require new testing or data for the drug, which might have been required under a Complete Response Letter, but will delay approval and launch nonetheless. Sanofi hopes Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) will be approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), for which trials showed promising results when compared to an existing treatment. In the recent Phase III CARE-MS study, Lemtrada was tested against Pfizer`s (PFE) Rebif MS treatment and demonstrated that disability was significantly slowed by Lemtrada compared to Rebif. In fact, patients treated with the Genzyme drug were twice as likely to experience a reduction in disability. Revenue from Lemtrada is expected to reach $400-$600 million annually in six years if approved. Today`s setback, however, will delay the launch of Lemtrada. The company has been hoping … Continue reading →

Some people in Yukon are closely watching a set of experimental trials for multiple sclerosis sufferers in Albany, New York. The first Canadian to take part in the controversial liberation therapy treatment is recovering from surgery. About half a dozen Yukoners with MS will take part in the study over the next year. Whitehorse resident Al Macklon has signed up for the trials. Hes undergoing a screening process to determine if hell be chosen. I'm just really participating to get some answers to all of this because it's a huge financial toll for people with MS, Macklon said. The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada says MS is unpredictable, affecting vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility. The trials in Albany will test the effectiveness of the therapy, in which tiny balloons are surgically inserted to open up constricted veins. All of the trial participants will undergo surgery, but only about half will get the liberation treatment. Macklon has been living with MS for five years and dreams of the day that he can live pain-free. He wants to know if the treatment works. Most of us went into the research part of it just to try and get some answers to … Continue reading →

By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 08:45 EST, 26 August 2012 | UPDATED: 10:51 EST, 26 August 2012 'Just wear black' is usually trusted advice - but Chelsee Healy proves she is a walking fashion disaster in any colour. Full credit to the 24-year-old Strictly Come Dancing star for trying in her black off the shoulder top and tight trousers for a shopping trip yesterday (Saturday) as it makes a change to her usual wild clashing coloured look. But Chelsee, who turned up to her own birthday party looking frightful, didn't seem to mind her fashion blunder as she walked the streets in Swinton, Manchester, for the celeb craze treatment, HD Brows. Get ready: Chelsee tries for a classy look but still manages to look a bit brassy out in Manchester The former Waterloo Road star was visiting Natasha Giggs beauty salon, Peace and Pout, in the city. With studded boots and a huge sixties bun Chelsee could have been on her way to a fancy dress party, not a trip to a salon. Chelsee is certainly used to negative comments about her wardrobe. Off the shoulder, off key: Give her credit, Chelsee has gone for a classy look Read more … Continue reading →

REGINA A young Saskatchewan woman is travelling the country on an important mission: Motivating people with multiple sclerosis to keep fighting the disease. Saskatoons Andreas was in Regina Thursday for Crusin for a Cause, A&Ws fundraising effort to support the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Canada. Andreas, who was diagnosed with MS when she was 19, spoke at the Avonhurst A&W and explained the journey her disease has taken her on. I hope to just give people hope. That whether or not a cure ever exists, whatever medication, whatever treatments going on, theres always hope, she said. Just keep fighting, waiting for hope and waiting for a cure. The Avonhurst A&W has raised the most money of all Canadian locations since Cruisin with a Cure was first held four years ago. According to Yves Savoie, president and CEO of the MS Society of Canada, they were in the running to repeat as top fundraiser again. For Andreas, theres a bit of pride in seeing an A&W in her home province leading the pack.Its kind of one of those things that puts Saskatchewan on the map, said Andreas. Nobody really knows where it is. The event raises money through selling Teen burgers … Continue reading →

For each Teen BurgerTM sold in Canada , $1 will be given to the MS Society MONTREAL , Aug. 20, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - For a fourth consecutive year, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada invites Quebecers to join the fight against MS as part of its annual fundraising and awareness event, in collaboration with A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. (AW-UN.TO). How can I contribute? Exclusively on Thursday, August 23 , for each Teen Burger sold across the country, one dollar will be donated to help fight MS. The A&W Rendez-vous event will also feature several fundraising activities in participating restaurants, including games, raffles, prizes and even personal appearances by the Great Root Bear himself! Well-known personality Patricia Paquin will be at the Plateau-Mont-Royal A&W restaurant, located at 4501 St-Denis Street, between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Furthermore, until August 23: "The A&W Rendez-vous to end MS campaign greatly contributes to financing ongoing MS cause and treatment research, as well as services offered to Canadians suffering from this illness, which is diagnosed in three Canadians per day, explains Yves Savoie, President and CEO, MS Society of Canada . We are very grateful toward all donors, as well as A&W … Continue reading →

A Saskatoon man with multiple sclerosis will begin his first day of clinical trials for experimental vein therapy Wednesday in Albany, New York. Andrew Dahlen, 28, is the first of 86 MS patients from Saskatchewan selected to participate in the two-year study. The trial will test the so-called "liberation therapy," in which tiny balloons will be surgically inserted to open constricted veins. All of the the participants will undergo the surgery, but only half will receive the treatment. Wednesday afternoon, Dahlen will be given a drug which will cause him to have temporary amnesia only a local anesthetic is needed for the procedure. The drug is given to make sure Dahlen doesn't remember anything that happens in the operating room. His surgeon will then open an envelope revealing whether Dahlen will receive the liberation therapy or not. "It's been stressful, trying not to show it, but it's stressful," Dahlen told CBC News. But Dahlen said he is okay either way. "I feel like I'm doing something good for Saskatchewan, for research," he said. "I also hope I get the procedure, but if I don't, it will be good research," he said. Dahlen won't officially know if he actually received the … Continue reading →

Multiple sclerosis is a prevalent disease that affects about 250,000 to 350,000 Americans, according to the National Institute of Health. This disease afflicts the brain and spinal cord, which make up the central nervous system, and causes the inflammation of the meninges, a lining of cells that cover the surface of the brain. Though this is, as yet, an incurable disease, MS has many treatment and therapeutic options for patients. A group of Wayne State researchers, along with colleagues in Canada, have found a possible pathway that leads to disease progression which could lead to new therapies for patients. WSU School of Medicine neurology associate chair and professor Joyce A. Benjamins, neurology professor Robert P. Lisak, neurology and immunology & microbiology assistant professor Samia Ragheba, neurology research assistants Liljana Nedelkoskaa and Jennifer Barger all contributed to the study. The main idea behind the study was to see if B cells from patients with MS make substances that could be secreted that could damage CNS cells, Lisak said. B cells are a type of lymphocytes, or white blood cells, that produce antibodies, which help the body in immune responses. In patients with multiple sclerosis, however, the B cells produce molecules that … Continue reading →

Crazy ants create nightmare for Hancock County residents Crazy ants create nightmare for Hancock County residents Updated: Monday, August 20 2012 6:52 AM EDT2012-08-20 10:52:49 GMT Updated: Friday, August 17 2012 12:04 PM EDT2012-08-17 16:04:27 GMT Updated: Tuesday, August 21 2012 6:54 AM EDT2012-08-21 10:54:09 GMT Updated: Friday, August 17 2012 2:44 PM EDT2012-08-17 18:44:29 GMT JACKSON, MS (AP) - Federal court records show a Mississippi company that was the target of the largest U.S. workplace raid on illegal immigrants has settled a discrimination lawsuit by four black women who claimed the company gave preferential treatment to Latinos. A tentative settlement was announced in February. Details were released in court documents filed this past week. U.S. District Court records show Howard Industries will pay $1.3 million into a settlement fund to be paid to possibly as many as 5,000 non-Hispanic individuals who applied for jobs at the company between March 2003 and Aug. 28, 2008. Also, within nine months after the settlement, the company will hire at least 70 of the individuals who had applied for jobs. Immigration agents detained nearly 600 illegal immigrants in the 2008 raid. Read more: Settlement in MS suit over illegal workers … Continue reading →

Heather Sinsels brother Robbie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal chord, seven years ago at age 26. Ever since, she and her brother have participated in the MS Challenge Walk, among other MS fundraisers, including a mud run and the MS Walk held annually in Lenape Park in Perkasie. This is the first year hes not walking because hes not well enough, Sinsel said of her brothers health. Since she wont be able to walk with her brother, she decided to make a team of relatives and friends instead and deemed them Robbies Rockstars. So far, participants include Robbies aunt, Patricia DiPippa; his friend, Colleen Penglase; Sinsels friend, Robin Gilles; and, of course, Sinsel herself. Each year Sinsel has participated in the Philadelphia MS Challenge Walk, she has hosted a large fundrasing event. This year, she chose to have a fun morning of Zumba. Ditch the workout, join the party, is Zumbas tagline. The exercise form combines Latin and international music with dance moves that offer an effective full-body workout. Theresa Johnson, who teaches Zumba every Tuesday evening at St. Andrews Church at Dill and Chestnut streets in Perkasie, offered her … Continue reading →

For each Teen BurgerTM sold in Canada , $1 will be given to the MS Society MONTREAL , Aug. 20, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - For a fourth consecutive year, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada invites Quebecers to join the fight against MS as part of its annual fundraising and awareness event, in collaboration with A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. (AW-UN.TO). How can I contribute? Exclusively on Thursday, August 23 , for each Teen Burger sold across the country, one dollar will be donated to help fight MS. The A&W Rendez-vous event will also feature several fundraising activities in participating restaurants, including games, raffles, prizes and even personal appearances by the Great Root Bear himself! Furthermore, until August 23: "The A&W Rendez-vous to end MS campaign greatly contributes to financing ongoing MS cause and treatment research, as well as services offered to Canadians suffering from this illness, which is diagnosed in three Canadians per day, explains Yves Savoie, President and CEO, MS Society of Canada . We are very grateful toward all donors, as well as A&W guests and employees, for the active role they play year after year to ensure that this important fundraising event is a resounding … Continue reading →