Category Archives: MS Treatment

People who deal with the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis are strong and courageous. While some show few symptoms and can live a normal life, others deal with more severe effects like paralysis and impaired speech. Since women between ages 20 to 50 are the most likely to get MS, doctors expect some questions about pregnancy. How does MS affect pregnancy? Can MS patients have children? For the most part, women dealing with MS can have children successfully. On the other hand, they should know more about treating MS outside of pregnancy first. Then, they can talk with their practitioners further before getting pregnant. Breaking treatment.If MS patients are not pregnant, they will usually take a round of drugs that slow down the diseases effects. They may also take medicines to lessen painful symptoms. While the usual drugs prescribed for MS help patients somewhat, they have not proven extremely effective. Recently, researchers have been studying and testing a new drug that will even help patients with severe MS. These patients usually suffer debilitating symptoms that worsen over time, a form of MS called primary progressive. Until now, they had little hope of battling these severe effects. Then last week, the … Continue reading →

SALINA Harrah, Oklahoma native Apryl Saunders is compelled by the idea of one day defeating multiple sclerosis, or MS, a disease from which her mother suffers. But thats a long way from the love of softball that helped her get to Kansas Wesleyan University five years ago. Saunders entered her freshman year at KWU as a talented softball infielder with dreams of becoming a doctor. As she pursued a pre-med track, her biology and chemistry classes began to capture her attention. Seeing her talent for the sciences, Dr. James Townsend, chair of the KWU chemistry department, helped her to apply for and get two remarkable research experiences. First, she participated in a study abroad opportunity at the Nottingham Trent University in England. Her research in chemistry there further stoked her interest and led her to apply for and receive a Research Experience for Undergraduates grant, funded by the National Science Foundation, to conduct research in structural biology at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Townsend helped me so much at Kansas Wesleyan, Saunders. The study abroad and REU opportunities were so important. Between sophomore and junior year, I still wanted to go to medical school after college, but I felt so … Continue reading →

MISSION, KS--(Marketwired - Apr 10, 2017) - (Family Features) Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease for which there is no cure.1 Affecting about 400,000 people in the U.S., MS can display an unpredictable mix of physical, cognitive or emotional symptoms that vary from person to person and can change over time.2,3In most people, the disease eventually leads to some level of disability.3 People are often diagnosed in the prime of their lives (20s-40s) when they may be building their careers or planning a family.3 After being diagnosed in 2011 at 39 years old, Wayne Donovan, a Texas firefighter, knows firsthand what it's like to live with the unpredictability of having a relapsing form of multiple sclerosis (RMS). Numbness in his hand and foot prompted Wayne to see an orthopedist, thinking he had pinched a nerve. However, the doctor recognized that it may be something more serious and referred him to neurologist Dr. Edward Fox of Central Texas Neurology Consultants, who diagnosed him with RMS. "By the time I saw Dr. Fox, about three quarters of my body was either numb and tingling or had pins and needles," said Wayne. "As a firefighter, I have to be strong and … Continue reading →

NSI Stem Cell Centers have years of experience in regenerative medicine. All therapies are FDA guidelines-compliant, and include the treatment of several neurological conditions that include multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons Disease. So how does stem cell therapy as an MS treatment work? Lets take a closer look: The core reason behind the symptoms and suffering of multiple sclerosis has to do with erosion and damage to the myelin sheath. The myelin sheaths line the part of the nerve cell called the axon. Axons are the nerve fibers that transmit information to different neurons, muscles and glands. The myelin sheaths primary function is to increase the speed of the impulses that travel along the axons. The main ways that the MSCs used in stem cell MS treatment work are by triggering re-growth of the myelin sheaths and improving the health of existing nerve cells. But MSCs also stimulate the re-grow of entirely new healthy nerve cells to replace damaged ones. NSI Stem Cell Centers MS treatment is FDA guidelines-compliant. By harvesting a small sample of fat from the patients thigh, abdomen or buttock, an abundant source of MSCs is acquired. A local anesthetic at the point of harvest is the only … Continue reading →

The majority of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis have a relapsing form of the disease, characterized by unpredictable episodes (called relapses or exacerbations) of acute worsening of neurologic function. During a relapse, you might experience new symptoms and/or a worsening of previous or existing symptoms. What causes a relapse? Relapses are caused by acute inflammation in the central nervous system which can cause a variety of symptoms. Sometimes relapses are marked by new lesions in the white matter of the brain or spinal cord which can be seen on MRI scans. Neurologists will often prescribe a 3- or 5-day course of high-dose intravenous steroids to reduce inflammation and speed resolution of a relapse. Symptoms With the onset of a relapse, you may experience a dramatic change in symptoms, such as muscle weakness which makes lifting your arm difficult or a case of optic neuritis resulting in temporary blindness or altered color vision in one eye. Or perhaps you suddenly have trouble with slurred speech or bladder control. A relapse is defined by new or worsening symptoms which last for more than 24 hours and are separated by more than 30 days from a previous relapse. While symptoms of a relapse … Continue reading →

Imagine a blood test that could allow a medical professional to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) within just seven days. Today, a diagnosis can take months or even years to confirm. IQuity, a start-up company based in Tennessee, plans to launch such a test in May. They claim it has a 90 percent success rate in detecting MS. To date, no one test can guarantee a diagnosis of MS. Currently, diagnosing MS is accomplished through tests such as MRI and the process of elimination for other illnesses. Due to the diseases ability to mimic symptoms of other illnesses, and because no two people present MS symptoms exactly the same, the diagnosis process can be a guessing game. Read more: Early signs of multiple sclerosis Bruce Bebo, executive vice president of research at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, leads the organizations team, whose goal is to invest the agencys resources in the most impactful way. There is an unmet need for speedier and more accurate ways to diagnose MS, Bebo told Healthline. The current process works by elimination. Having a blood-based test could simplify or speed up the process, both of which would be advancement in treating MS. He noted that the … Continue reading →

Preliminary tests of a potential new mesothelioma treatment have yielded some exciting results at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Mesothelioma researchers there are evaluating an immune system modulator called FTY720 or fingolimod. Derived from a fungus called Iscaria sinclairii, FTY720 has been used to treat the relapsing form of multiple sclerosis. Although FTY720 has shown what the research team calls therapeutic potential in some other forms of cancer, this is the first study evaluating the agent in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. To test the impact of FTY720 on mesothelioma tumors, the researchers first treated a panel of mesothelioma cell lines as well as normal human mesothelial cells. They assessed the action of the agent by measuring the activity of phosphatase protein 2A (PP2A), a major target for FTY720. The next step was to evaluate the activation of programmed cell death or apoptosis. A breakdown in apoptosis signaling is a major reason why cancers like malignant mesothelioma are allowed to grow out of control. Finally, the team gave the FTY720 treatment to mice that had been infected with human mesothelioma tumors to look for negative side effects. The University of Hawaii researchers found that FTY720 significantly suppressed the … Continue reading →

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body responds to its central nervous system and mounts an immune attack, using T cells against its myelinthe protective coating around nerve cellsand the oligodendrocytes that produce myelin. This leads to scar tissue, degradation of nerve fiber, and eventual loss of motor function. Thus far, MS has typically been treated systemically with drugs that suppress the entire immune system, which causes a host of side effects, including susceptibility to infection, hair loss, bladder infections, and nausea, among others. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Maryland (UoM), has formulated a new therapeutic approach in mice that focuses on a specific immune targetthe lymph nodeswithout causing systemic immune suppression. Using this technique, they reversed MS-like paralysis in mice. Lead researcher Christopher Jewell, assistant professor of bioengineering at UoM, presented their findings yesterday at the 253rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society. These new results are a continuation of research the team published in the September 2016 issue of the journal Cell Reports. Jewell tells mental_floss that you can think of the lymph nodes as the place where immune cells are assigned their jobs. The lymph … Continue reading →

Investor's Business Daily Biogen multiple sclerosis drug sales could fall $900M by 2020, analyst predicts Boston Business Journal Annual revenue from Biogen's multiple sclerosis treatments could decline $900 million by 2020 more than 10 percent amid increased competition from Roche's potential blockbuster Ocrevus and other drugs, according to an analyst. Leerink Partners ... How Roche's 'Game Changer' Drug Will Chip Away At Biogen, NovartisInvestor's Business Daily all 3 news articles » Here is the original post: Biogen multiple sclerosis drug sales could fall $900M by 2020, analyst predicts - Boston Business Journal … Continue reading →

People who deal with the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis are strong and courageous. While some show few symptoms and can live a normal life, others deal with more severe effects like paralysis and impaired speech. Since women betweenages 2050are the most likely to get MS, doctors expect some questions about pregnancy. How does MS affect pregnancy? Can MS patients have children? For the most part, women dealing with MS can have children successfully. On the other hand, they should know more about treating MS outside of pregnancy first. Then, they can talk with their practitioners further before getting pregnant. Breaking Treatment If MS patients are not pregnant, they will usually take a round of drugs that slow down the diseases effects. They may also take medicines to lessen painful symptoms. While the usual drugs prescribed for MS help patients somewhat, they have not proven extremely effective. Recently, researchers have been studying and testing anew drugthat will even help patients with severe MS. These patients usually suffer debilitating symptoms that worsen over time, a form of MS called primary progressive. Until now, they had little hope of battling these severe effects. Then last week, the US Food and Drug Administration … Continue reading →