MS in the Media
These are links to recent news stories that may be of interest to people in the UK. Click on the link beneath each item to be taken to the original story.
The MS Trust has not written the original items and does not endorse their content nor any claims made in them.
Links to stories are held on these pages for two months.
Plegridy (peginterferon beta-1a)
21 May 2013
Plegridy, a version of beta interferon that requires fewer injections, has been submitted for licensing in the USA based on the first year results of the two year ADVANCE trial. The trial is looking at one a fortnight and once a month doses. Initial results suggest reduction in relapses of about a third - similar to the existing beta interferon drugs.
Boston Globe
National MS Society
Beta interferon and cognition
20 May 2013
A small study followed up 16 people involved in one of the original beta interferon trials. After 16 years, cognition symptoms were relatively stable in all those studied, but people who had been on beta interferon for all 16 years had better verbal memory functioning than those who had initially been on placebo for five years before switching to interferon.
MS Research Australia
Arbaclofen placarbil
20 May 2013
XenoPort has discontinued its potential spasticity treatment (a slow release version of baclofen) after a phase 3 trail showed it was no more effective than placebo.
Reuters
Impact of MS symptoms on work
15 May 2013
A review of three recent studies from the UK, Germany and the USA shows that fatigue and cognition have a significant impact on employment for people with MS. The UK study showed that after 11 years, 43% of people with MS had left work and about half of those still working had reduced their hours.
MS Research Australia
Future of The Brambles
09 May 2013
Following the closure of the owners plan to knock it down and build a bigger residential home for older people with "an MS site on the side".
Get Surrey
Carers' rights
07 May 2013
The Care and Support Minister, has said that new laws to protect the right of carers to a social services assessment will be included in the Queen's Speech.
Daily Telegraph
Fingolimod and blood disorder
06 May 2013
Fingolimod (Gilenya) has been added to the US drug regulator's watch list due to reports of hemophagocytic syndrome - a rare blood disorder. Being on the list doesn't affect availability of fingolimod but means that the FDA will investigate whether there is a link between adverse event and the medication.
Medscape
(requires registration)
MS and race
06 May 2013
A study of people in California found that black people had a 47% higher risk of MS than white people. The risk was lower for Hispanic (58%) and Asian (80%) people. The proportion of women to men was about 2:1 across the whole study but 3:1 amongst black people.
Newswise
National MS Society (USA)
Medical News Today
Mother and daughter with MS
04 May 2013
Article for MS Awareness Week about a mother and daughter from Middlesbrough who both have multiple sclerosis.
Middlesbrough Evening Gazette
Diet and MS
03 May 2013
Review of the recent research in Cyprus and Norway looking at dietary supplements and fatty acids in MS. Also mentions ongoing Australian research looking at the effect of cholesterol on MS and progression.
MS Research Australia
Modafinil and fatigue
03 May 2013
Novelist MJ Hyland found modafinil (which she describes as a neuroenhancer) helped her fatigue. She bought the drug online without a prescription. Following a European safety review, modafinil is only licensed for treating narcolepsy.
Guardian
Young carer rewarded
03 May 2013
A 14 year old who cares for his mother with MS has been given a day out at the Blackburn Rovers training ground.
Lancashire Telegraph
Closure of The Brambles
01 May 2013
The Brambles, the MS respite centre in Surrey, will close on Saturday 4 May. The owners suggest that the centre was too small to provide the services needed.
Redhill And Reigate Life
Gaps in access to MS services highlighted
29 April 2013
A survey by the MS Society suggests that levels of disease modifying drug usage varies across the four countries of the UK. The survey also draws attention to difficulties accessing fampridine and Sativex, inequalities in social care, financial problems and MS specialist services.
BBC
Guardian
Daily Telegraph
Woman with MS
28 April 2013
Sophie Yates, who was diagnosed shortly after getting married, about how MS affects her and her husband.
Sunday Express
Drug for uncontrolled laughing or crying
26 April 2013
The the European drug regulator's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended Nuedexta as a treatment for pseudobulbar affect (uncontrolled laughing or crying), which can be a symptom of MS. A license should follow in the next few months.
European Medicines Agency (EMA)
Teriflunomide (Aubagio) and CIS
25 April 2013
The results of the two year TOPIC study showed that conversion from clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to definite MS was about 40% lower in people taking different doses of teriflunomide compared to people on placebo.
Genzyme press release
PML and dimethyl fumarate
24 April 2013
Two cases of PML in people taking a drug similar to BG-12 (Tecfidera) have been reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Biogen, who make BG-12, report that they are aware of two further cases. All four were taking a formulation of the drug as a treatment for psoriasis.
MedPage Today
National MS Society (USA)
Complementary and alternative medicine use in MS
23 April 2013
Scandinavian research into how people with MS use alternative therapies shows use is common, is used both to complement conventional treatment and on its own, is associated with people with a good level of education, and that people "do not usually use alternative treatments for treating symptoms, but as a preventative and strengthening element".
Medical News Today
Supplement combination trial
23 April 2013
A small randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in Cyprus compared three varieties of supplements with placebo over 30 months. A group taking omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on a 1:1 ratio, vitamin A and two types of vitamin E had 64% fewer relapses than the placebo group. Only 41 of the 80 participants completed the study.
eMax health
Thalamus atrophy and risk of MS
23 April 2013
Research using MRI scans says that shrinkage (atrophy) in the area of the brain called the thalamus in people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is associated with higher risk of being diagnosed with MS.
Web MD
Medical News Today
Age at EDSS levels
18 April 2013
Research using the MSBase database suggests that the age at which people reach key levels of disability is rising. The same story also reports that Australians only stay on a disease modifying drug for an average of two and half years, tending to stop due to poor tolerance.
MS Research Australia
Review of research at AAN
10 April 2013
The American National MS Society has published a review of last month's American Academy of Neurologys (AAN) meeting. Topics covered include research into a number of drugs, repairing the nervous system and recovering function and factors affecting disease activity.
National MS Society (USA)
DLA changes to PIP
08 April 2013
Personal Independence Payments will replace Disability Living Allowance for new claimants from today in the north of England. It will be extended to the rest of the country from June and reassessment of people currently on DLA will start from October.
BBC
Guardian
Birth month and vitamin D
08 April 2013
A British study of blood from umbilical cords of babies born in 2009 and 2010 found those born in May had 20% lower vitamin D levels than those born in November and also had double the level of potentially harmful autoreactive T-cells.
Web MD
Medical News Today
Classification of MS
06 April 2013
Interview with Dr Fred Lublin, a neurologist in New York, about the next round of discussions on classifying types of MS.
Medpage Today
Fampridine and trigeminal neuralgia
04 April 2013
Case study of four people reported at AAN (the American Academy of Neurology meeting) whose pre-existing trigeminal neuralgia became worse when they started taking fampridine. The symptom didn't greatly improve when the drug was stopped.
Internal Medicine News
Daclizumab trial results published
04 April 2013
Daclizumab is a monthly injection DMT. The two doses studied reduced the relapse rate by 54% and 50% compared to placebo and also reduced lesions. Manufacturer's announcement of publication of the results in The Lancet.
Biogen press release
Fampridine not to be funded by NHS in England
04 April 2013
The new board that commissions specialist NHS services in England has published a policy statement on the use of fampridine in MS. The Board questions the significance of the research results and concludes that fampridine is not a cost-effective use of NHS resources, so will not routinely fund treatment.
NHS Commissioning Board
Bone marrow transplants
03 April 2013
A Canadian study of 24 people with aggressive MS has found that wiping out someone's immune system and then reintroducing bone marrow effectively stops relapsing activity and the reason for this is that when the immune system regenerates, the function of Th17 cells is substantially diminished.
Vancouver Sun
Science Daily
AAN meeting review
03 April 2013
An interview with Dr Lawrence Steinman, Professor of Neurology at Stanford University in California, looks at topics raised at the recent AAN (American Academy of Neurology) meeting. Topics covered include repurposing already approved drugs, the Avonex/Copaxone combination therapy and approaches to secondary progressive MS.
Medscape (requires free registration)
PML and body weight
03 April 2013
Analysis presented at last month's AAN (American Academy of Neurology) meeting found that PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), a side effect of Tysabri, was more prevalent in people with lower body weight. Whether weight is the risk factor or just indicative of something else is not clear.
Medscape (requires free registration)
Fatigue and work
02 April 2013
A Swedish study of 257 people with MS found that fatigue was the most significant factor affecting the work capacity, ahead of heat sensitivity, cognition, emotional distress and physical disability.
MS Research Australia
Football supporters with a disability
30 March 2013
Newcastle Utd's Disabled Supporters' Association celebrates its 15th anniversary. One of the people interviewed has MS.
Newcastle Chronicle
Ocrelizumab extension study
29 March 2013
Results from an extension study reported at the AAN (Academy of American Neurologists) meeting show that ocrelizumab remained effective and no new side effects were seen 18 months after the last dose the drug. In the initial phase 2 study, the drug was given as an injection twice a year. Relapse rates fell with treatment and were lower 18 months after the final injection.
Medscape News (requires free registration)
111 service
28 March 2013
The new service to replace NHS Direct as the place to turn with non urgent health calls is launched on Monday. The BMA have called for this to be delayed over concerns about the capacity and response times of the new service in pilot areas.
BBC
Drug research from the AAN meeting
27 March 2013
Another round up of information presented at the recent AAN (American Academy of Neurology) meeting about disease modifying drugs - includes fingolimod, teriflunomide, pegylated interferon, glatiramer acetate and a combination treatment.
MedPage Today
Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) approved in US
27 March 2013
Tecfidera (BG12) has been approved by the FDA, the American drug regulator, making it the third oral disease modifying drug for relapsing MS to be licensed in the USA after fingolimod (Gilenya) and teriflunomide (Aubagio).
FDA
National MS Society (USA)
MedPage Today
Has natural selection caused inflammatory diseases such as MS?
26 March 2013
Study suggests that genes that increase the risk of conditions such as MS may have developed to protect against viruses and bacteria that people are not exposed to as frequently in the modern world.
Medical News Today
New drugs in development for relapsing MS
26 March 2013
A round up of information from the recent AAN (American Academy of Neurology) meeting mentions alemtuzumab (Lemtrada), dimethyl fumarate (BG12), ocrelizumab, laquinimod and a new approach to retroviruses.
MedPage Today
Dental amalgam
25 March 2013
The Guardian looks at issues around dental amalgam and concludes that existing fillings are probably safe.
Guardian