Research News
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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)
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
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
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The MSIF database is compiled by the Institute of Neurology, London
