Multiple Sclerosis Health Center

News and Features Related to Multiple Sclerosis

Childbirth May Slow Progression of MS

Nov. 23, 2009 -- Childbirth appears to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis, whether a woman gives birth before her diagnosis or after, according to a Belgian study. Women whose children were born after MS began were even more likely to have a slower progression of disease than those who child
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No Increased Pregnancy Risk for MS Patients

Nov. 18, 2009 -- Pregnant women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are only a little more likely to deliver babies by cesarean section than women who don't have the neurological disorder, a new study shows. The study also shows that women with MS are no more likely to have other problems with pregnancy, s
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Teenage Obesity May Raise Risk of MS

Nov. 9, 2009 -- Obesity in adolescent girls may increase risk for multiple sclerosis later in life, a study shows. Researchers examined data on more than 238,000 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study, which began in 1976, and the Nurses' Health Study II, which began in 1989. Participant
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Genetic Clue May Predict Multiple Sclerosis Severity

Oct. 19, 2009 -- A newly identified biomarker may be linked to the severity of multiple sclerosis and may one day help with diagnosis and treatment of the often frustrating and unpredictable disease. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord that affects more than 400,000 American
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FDA Panel: New MS Drug Helps Walking

Oct. 16, 2009 - A new drug for multiple sclerosis truly helps some patients walk better, says an FDA advisory panel. The finding, by a panel of outside experts, makes it more likely that full FDA approval will come soon. If approved, the drug -- tentatively named Ampriva -- would be the first to imp
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When MS Attacks

Call it a flare-up, call it an exacerbation -- whatever you call it, you can't call it fun. Exacerbations of multiple sclerosis are the periodic, sudden worsening of symptoms that so many people with relapsing-remitting MS experience on a regular basis. You're walking along fine when you notice numb
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Multiple Sclerosis: Questions to Ask Your Doctor

10 Important Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Multiple Sclerosis Have you been able to rule out every other possible cause of my symptoms? What form of multiple sclerosis do you think I have? What drug(s) should I take to treat my MS? How will I know if the drugs are working? What side effects sho
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Multiple Sclerosis: The Importance of Early Treatment

It took three years for Michele Maglione to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Her first attack came in 1988, when she experienced a frightening bout of numbness from the waist down. She assumed she had a slipped disk or pinched nerve from a recent move. Her doctor sent her to a neurologist,
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Blood Pressure Drug May Help Treat MS

Aug. 17, 2009 -- A drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure may also double as a multiple sclerosis treatment. A new study shows the inexpensive blood pressure drug lisinopril blocked development of multiple sclerosis in laboratory mice bred to develop the disease. And when the drug was given
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Epstein-Barr Virus Linked to MS

May 4, 2009 (Seattle) -- Infection with Epstein-Barr virus appears to raise the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), Boston researchers report. The findings offer the strongest evidence to date implicating the virus as a trigger for the chronic progressive autoimmune disorder of the brain and
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