Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a nervous system disease that affects your brain and spinal cord. It damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects your nerve cells. This damage slows down or blocks messages between your brain and your body, leading to the symptoms of MS. They can include No one knows what causes MS. It may be an autoimmune disease, which happens when your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. Multiple sclerosis affects women more than men. It often begins between the ages of 20 and 40. Usually, the disease is mild, but some people lose the ability to write, speak, or walk. There is no single test for MS. Doctors use a medical history, physical exam, neurological exam, MRI, and other tests to diagnose it. There is no cure for MS, but medicines may slow it down and help control symptoms. Physical and occupational therapy may also help. NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Go here to read the rest: Multiple Sclerosis: MedlinePlus - National Library of ... … Continue reading →

Multiple sclerosis can cause a variety of symptoms: changes in sensation (hypoesthesia), muscle weakness, abnormal muscle spasms, or difficulty moving; difficulties with coordination and balance; problems in speech (dysarthria) or swallowing (dysphagia), visual problems (nystagmus, optic neuritis, phosphenes or diplopia), fatigue and acute or chronic pain syndromes, bladder and bowel difficulties, cognitive impairment, or emotional symptomatology (mainly major depression). The main clinical measure in progression of the disability and severity of the symptoms is the Expanded Disability Status Scale or EDSS.[1] The initial attacks are often transient, mild (or asymptomatic), and self-limited. They often do not prompt a health care visit and sometimes are only identified in retrospect once the diagnosis has been made after further attacks. The most common initial symptoms reported are: changes in sensation in the arms, legs or face (33%), complete or partial vision loss (optic neuritis) (20%), weakness (13%), double vision (7%), unsteadiness when walking (5%), and balance problems (3%); but many rare initial symptoms have been reported such as aphasia or psychosis.[2][3] Fifteen percent of individuals have multiple symptoms when they first seek medical attention.[4] Bladder problems (See also urinary system and urination) appear in 7080% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and they … Continue reading →

Description An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of MS. What Is Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system. MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease. In MS, the bodys immune system produces cells and proteins (antibodies) that attack myelin, a fatty substance that protects nerve fibers. The cause of MS is unknown. It is not an inherited disease, but it appears that genetic factors play a role in making some people more susceptible to developing it. MS affects significantly more women than men. Most patients first begin to have symptoms between the ages of 20 - 50. The course of MS varies among patients. The disease may be mild, moderate, or severe. Most patients have the relapsing-remitting form of MS in which flare-ups (also called relapses or exacerbations) of symptoms are followed by periods of remission. Symptoms of MS include fatigue; vision problems; difficulty walking; muscle weakness, stiffness, and spasms; and bladder and bowel problems. Not all patients have all symptoms. Treatment Patients with multiple sclerosis are treated with medications and rehabilitation. Seven disease-modifying drugs are approved to treat multiple sclerosis. These drugs can help reduce the frequency … Continue reading →

Novel pathogenic epitopes of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein induce experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in C57BL/6 mice.Delarasse C, Smith P, Baker D, Amor S. Immunology. 2013 Dec;140(4):456-64. doi: 10.1111/imm.12155. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), a minor protein of the central nervous system myelin, is recognized as a potential target in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica. The extracellular domain of MOG is commonly used in a wide range of mouse strains and other animals to induce experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an autoimmune animal model of multiple sclerosis, because it is a target for antibody-mediated attack. Previous studies, using selected peptides, have indicated that MOG(35-55) peptide is an encephalitogenic epitope in C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice. A more systematic analysis of both T-cell and B-cell responses following immunization of C57BL/6 mice with either recombinant extracellular mouse MOG protein (1-116) or with overlapping peptides spanning the whole sequence of MOG, before assessment of responses to 15 mer and 23 mer peptides was undertaken. The studies identified T-cell responses within the MOG(35-55) (extracellular domain) but also two new immunogenic and encephalitogenic T-cell epitopes within residues MOG(113-127), MOG(120-134) (localized in the transmembrane region) and MOG(183-197) (in the second hydrophobic MOG domain). In addition, residue MOG(113-127) was found to be a B-cell … Continue reading →

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requiring additional data for the new drug application for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment eteplirsen. As a result, Sarepta SRPT, -32.47% plans to submit a new drug application for the treatment by midyear 2015, later than the company had previously planned. Earlier this year, the company said it had expected to submit the new drug application by the end of this year. Shares of the company dived more than 33% in premarket trading in response. The company and the FDA held a type B, pre-investigational new-drug application meeting last month. In the meeting minutes, the FDA said that the required additional data includes the results from an independent assessment of dystrophin images and the 168-week clinical data from study 202, according to Sarepta. The FDAs guidance also requests more specific data, including a minimum duration of safety in new patients exposed to eteplirsen, patient-level natural history data to be obtained by Sarepta from independent academic institutions, and MRI data from a recent study conducted by an independent academic group. An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com. See the article here: The Wall Street Journal: Sarepta Therapeutics sees … Continue reading →

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday his state will release the nurse who had been quarantined in a tent next to a Newark hospital upon returning from Ebola-stricken West Africa. A private carrier will take Kaci Hickox back to her home in Maine, the Republican governors administration said. Ms. Hickox, 33, openly criticized her treatment at Newark Liberty International Airport and the conditions of her 21-day quarantine under a new order from Mr. Christie that governs people who enter New Jersey from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and show symptoms. Those who do not show symptoms or who do live in the Garden State may quarantine at home. Our preference always is to have people quarantined in their homes, Mr. Christie said Monday. Now in this instance, it wasnt possible because given her condition at the time and the fact that [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and New Jersey agreed she needed to be tested, then we needed to keep her in New Jersey. Ms. Hickox registered a fever at the airport, but she has alleged that may have been a false reading because her face was flushed and she had a normal temperature later on. She hired … Continue reading →