Multiple Sclerosis News

Medicare rule changes last year were meant to reduce patients' out-of-pocket costs through increased discounts from brand-name drug manufacturers.

Over an average of three years, MS progressed in 34 of 55 patients on medication -- meaning their disabilities worsened. That compared with only three of 55 patients given a stem cell transplant.

A new Swiss study found that people who have secondary progressive MS who took the drug rituximab reported less disabling symptoms over a 10-year period than those who didn't. People taking the drug also had a slower progression of MS symptoms.

Exactly how food allergies might exacerbate MS isn't clear. But the researchers said the results suggest they might boost MS-related inflammation.

People with MS who used cannabis-derived drugs reported slightly fewer muscle contractions, less bladder dysfunction and pain in a new study. But the self-reported results differed from those doctors came up with.

Older patients with MS have less depression and better quality of life compared with younger people, new research suggests.

The first drug approved for use in children with MS reduced relapse rates by 82 percent in people aged 10 to 17 compared with interferon beta-1a, a drug commonly used to slow the progression of the degenerative nerve disease.

Researchers have discovered a new subtype of multiple sclerosis, in which neurons die but there appears to be no damage to the myelin, the fatty, protective covering on nerve cells. The discovery changes the way scientists have understood the disease.

New MRI Test May Predict Severity of MS By Serena GordonHealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, July 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- People with multiple sclerosis (MS) often live with uncertainty because it's hard to predict how quickly the disease will progress and how disabling it might become.But researchers hope a new MRI test that tracks iron levels in the brain will help answer those questions. The test -- called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) -- looks at different areas of the brain and how much iron is deposited in each. In some brain areas, a higher iron level is linked

Among those with a genetic predisposition and organic solvent exposure, MS risk rose sevenfold. About 60 percent of all the MS cases seen fell into this category.

The new guidelines, issued by the academy, took into account studies on MS drugs and concluded that it's best to start use of MS drugs as early as possible.

The treatment involves using cancer drugs to decimate a patient's immune system and then restarting it with a stem cell transplant, BBC News reported.

The current study included more than 1,100 people from Southern California. Their average age was 36. Half had been diagnosed with early MS or with clinically isolated syndrome.

Those who take Tysabri (natalizumab) to manage their MS are more likely to suffer a relapse during pregnancy if they stop taking the drug before they conceive, the first study found.

The new regimen -- called Balance and Eye-Movement Exercises for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (BEEMS) -- had individuals perform balance and eye-movement exercises.

The study also found that a healthy lifestyle was linked to less depression, fatigue and pain for people with MS.

These regimens raised the risk for disease relapse, study found

Latest study shows blacks and Hispanics also vulnerable

Benefits reported for women who nursed 15 months or more

Study might explain why some multiple sclerosis patients stop understanding what others are feeling

First step was to test its safety in small trial of 6 people

The FDA has approved a new medication that is the first to treat PPMS, a rare form of multiple sclerosis.

Review found younger patients fared better over 5 years, though some deaths reported

Specialist hopes ocrelizumab will be available by spring

Study results suggest latitude affects timing of disease onset