The Forgan Smith building at the UQ St Lucia campus is lit up red in support of MS Awareness Month. UQ today switches on the red floodlights on the northern side of the Forgan Smith Building in the middle of the Great Court, and will leave them on between 6pm and 11pm every night for the duration of MS Awareness Month, to help raise awareness of the disease. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic neurological condition amongst young Australian adults today -- a disease that attacks a person's brain and spinal cord causing irreparable damage. More than 21,000 Australians are living with it and, while there is no known cure, researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and the UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR) are working to find treatments and learn more. Dr Judith Greer, an expert in MS at UQCCR, said the centre was working on understanding more about several aspects of MS. This includes studying genes that appear to be related to development of chronic progressive MS, trying to understand why pregnancy has both short and long-term beneficial effects for women with MS and looking at the role of EBV (the virus that causes glandular … Continue reading →

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The Elk Grove MS Group will be hosting the number one authority in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research in northern California, Dr. John Schaefer. He is a neurologist and the director of the Mercy Multiple Sclerosis Center in Carmichael. He earned his MD from the University of Chicagos Pritzker School of Medicine His neurology residency was conducted at the University of California at San Francisco. In addition, Schaefer is the Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Davis. He has written extensively on the topics of new treatments for MS, formulary decisions, patient adherence, and the costs of treatment for MS.Schaefer volunteers and serves the MS community at the Northern CA Chapter of the National MS Society. He is on the Professional Advisory Committee and is chair ofthe Central Valley location. He is also on the Chapter Board of Trustees. Joining Dr. Schaefer will be Edie Happs, a Certified Multiple Sclerosis Nurse and a certified rehabilitation nurse. She has focused her interest in Neuro- rehabilitation for the past10 years.She is now the MS nurse at Mercy MS Center in Carmichael. Sheis working withDr. Schaefer and Dr. KarstenDengel. They will present the North American Education Program, Working for Me … Continue reading →

Rachelle Reagan was diagnosed four years ago with multiple sclerosis, which destroys myelin, a protective sheath that surrounds neurons. There is no cure for the auto-immune disease which is marked by flare-ups that have a cumulative, damaging effect on the body. Reagan, 35, of Herrin, Ill., has had three flare-ups. So she was excited to recently learn that her physician, Dr. Florian Thomas, professor of neurology and psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine, will be taking part in studying a new drug, Teriflunomide. It reduced the number of new brain lesions in people with MS in earlier studies, and as a bonus, it comes in pill form. Most existing treatments require injections or infusions. The hope is that Teriflunomide will also reduce the frequency of flare-ups. Each year, about 10,000 people nationwide are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. About 400,000 are living with the disease today. Reagan's left eye went blind during one flare-up when her immune system attacked the myelin surrounding her optic nerve cells. She estimates that 90 percent of her sight came back, but her vision is not as good as before. She still has problems controlling her legs since another flare-up attacked the myelin surrounding … Continue reading →