By usman iftikhar - July 12, 2013 | Tickers: ACOR, BIIB, RCPT | 0 Comments usman is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited. In the last six months, the NASDAQ biotechnology index has risen by an impressive 26.72%. This means that biotech stocks, on average, had more than double the return of S&P 500 index. These impressive returns are, however, difficult to understand because medical news has not reported any major breakthrough treatment for the various dangerous diseases that exist today. This fact rings a bell in my mind and I ask myself whether these valuations are based on some solid information or not. It is not even possible to ascertain what percentage of biotech companies will be able to put drugs on the market in the coming months. I have identified three companies that are involved in developing drugs for Multiple Sclerosis, or MS. For the purpose of this analysis, we must first understand what the disease is all about. MS is a disease which is, at present, non-treatable. It is an auto-immune disease in which the bodys own immune system attacks the … Continue reading →

Teresa Pointer, from Aylsham, whose MS has been helped by using a new drug based on cannabis plant extracts. PHOTO: ANTONY KELLY Alex Hurrell, Reporter Saturday, July 13, 2013 10:00 AM To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in. A new cannabis-based licensed drug has transformed the life of multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer Teresa Pointer from Aylsham. Mrs Pointer, 42, spotted an advertisement in the EDP eight years ago, asking people to take part in treatment trials at the James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston, and she has not looked back. Today, thanks to two daily sprays of Sativex into her mouth, Mrs Pointer can sleep at night, walk for longer - and she has got her sense of humour back. I got in touch with Dr Willy Notcutt at the James Paget and then started on a clinical trial of Sativex. It was the best decision Ive ever made and its done so much for me. It really has given me my life back, said Mrs Pointer, who lives with her husband and two daughters in Hungate Street. She was diagnosed in 2004 with MS, a disease which affects nerves in the brain … Continue reading →

Dr. Robert Desjardins, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, says it's time to allocate funding to proven treatments. (CBC) New Brunswicks doctors are urging the provincial government to immediately suspend funding for liberation therapy and divert it to other "clinically effective" methods of treating multiple sclerosis. Recent studies have shown liberation therapy, which involves opening up narrow neck veins, is largely ineffective for most patients, and in some cases results in complications, New Brunswick Medical Society president, Dr. Robert Desjardins, said in a statement on Friday. "Its time for New Brunswick to suspend funding for individuals seeking this treatment," he said. New Brunswick is the only province that provides tax dollars to patients to help them get the procedure, which has not been approved as a viable treatment in Canada and must be performed outside the country. Requests for the fund have dropped off, said Desjardins, but dozens of people who wanted liberation therapy have been approved for payments of $2,500 each. The funding was announced before trials on the treatment were fully completed," he said. Its time to move on and use those health dollars to help MS patients through proven means. The medical society has offered to … Continue reading →

FREDERICTON -- The New Brunswick Medical Society is calling on the provincial government to stop spending public money on so-called liberation therapy for multiple sclerosis patients. The group says the money that now goes to a fund to help people in New Brunswick with MS pay for the treatment would be better spent on other clinically effective methods of treating the disease. President Dr. Robert Desjardins has posted an open letter on the group's website, calling on the province to immediately suspend the fund. Desjardins says while doctors and patients once held hope for liberation therapy, recent studies have shown it's not medically effective in treating most people with MS. In May, Finance Minister Blaine Higgs said the government will continue offering public money to people seeking liberation treatment outside Canada despite waning interest in the procedure. The government has budgeted $75,000 this year for the fund on top of the $400,000 it set aside in the first two years of the program. Applicants can get $2,500 each if a community group raises matching funds for the procedure, which can cost more than $10,000. Read this article: N.B. medical group want gov't to stop funding controversial MS treatment … Continue reading →

Seattle, Wa (PRWEB) July 13, 2013 Natural Multiple Sclerosis Treatment book introduces to people an effective multiple sclerosis treatment, tips, safe methods, natural remedies, diet plans, and detailed instructions that help them understand and follow easily. The book also reveals to people causes of their MS, symptoms, signs, types, treatments and prevention. In addition, the book indicates that MS is one of the most discouraging and debilitating conditions anyone can have. Furthermore, it is penned by Gary Levin a medical researcher and surgeon in the U.S for over 30 years. This man has been treating patients with multiple sclerosis for 20 years. Moreover, in this book, people will discover that MS is the deterioration of the myelin sheaths. This occurs when the immune system thinks that the myelin sheaths are a foreign intruder, which must be destroyed. Consequently, electrical impulses are stopped or slowed as they travel through the body's nervous system. Multiple sclerosis patients lose their muscular control, lose their feeling in nerves and suffer cognitive changes. They also have to suffer from many different symptoms such as frequently feeling tired and wiped out all the time, feeling aches and pains, numbness, double vision, vertigo, muscle weakness in the … Continue reading →