News
Open Door - May 2009 page 3
- FES update
- Focussing on uncertainties in bladder management
- Sativex and spasticity
- The statin trial (MS-STAT)
FES update
Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) can help some people with MS increase their walking speed and endurance according to newly published research that was funded by the MS Trust.
FES uses small electrical impulses to nerves in the leg to produce natural movement. Researchers measured walking speed in 44 people with secondary progressive MS either using FES or following an exercise regime. People using FES were able to walk faster and further when using the device than when it was turned off. Exercise produced a greater increase in both speed and endurance than FES.
In January, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance saying that FES can be offered as a treatment option for people with drop foot caused by damage to the brain or spinal cord.
Barrett CL, et al.
A randomized trial to investigate the effects of functional electrical stimulation and therapeutic exercise on walking performance for people with multiple sclerosis.
Multiple Sclerosis 2009;15(4):493-504.
Focussing on uncertainties in bladder management
For the past two years the MS Trust has been working with the James Lind Alliance to identify areas of 'clinical uncertainties' in bladder management. Thank you to all the people who completed a questionnaire on areas where they felt they were faced with uncertainty regarding the best choice to make.
At the end of 2008, representatives from the organisations involved in the project met to produce a short list of key areas. The final stage will be to develop a set of prioritised research questions, which will be published in a medical journal and presented at conferences.
Jenny Henderson has represented the MS Trust, commented, "I feel that the uncertainties that we have identified are the major ones, with several of them particularly relating to people with MS."
Sativex and spasticity
New research announced by the manufacturers of Sativex suggests that it may be effective in treating spasticity in some people with MS.
Sativex is a cannabis based medicine that is taken as a mouth spray. Previous research has shown that not all recipients respond to the drug, but those that do find it effective. As a result, this phase III trial was in two stages. In the first, 573 people received Sativex for four weeks. The 241 people who responded went into the second stage where they received either Sativex or a dummy placebo for 12 weeks. The results, which have not been independently published, indicate that 74% of those receiving Sativex reported an improvement of greater than 30% in their spasticity score. 51% of people on placebo reported the same improvement.
GW Pharmaceuticals have announced their intention to submit Sativex for regulatory approval in the second quarter of 2009.
GW Pharmaceuticals press release
The statin trial (MS-STAT)
Dr Jeremy Chataway of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust & the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery writes: in 2007 we began a trial of the cholesterol lowering drug simvastatin in secondary progressive MS.
There are still some places left on the trial for people who are:
- between 18-65 years old
- have worsening secondary progressive MS (not primary progressive)
- able to walk between 20 and 500 metres (frame allowed)
- not on disease modifying drugs
- able to travel to MRI centres in Sussex or Buckinghamshire
Contact 0208 383 0675 or mstc@imperial.ac.uk for an information pack
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- Articles in the current issue
- Vitamin D and MS
- The nice things in life
- Staying smart and staying afloat
- Fatigue management in MS
- Standing up for MS
