New Drug Offers Potential For Restoration Of Lost Function In MS Patients
Accentia Biopharmaceuticals announces that it met with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 26, 2007 for a scheduled pre-Investigational New Drug (pre-IND) meeting on Revimmune™.
10 Oct 2007

Multiple Sclerosis Nerve Damage Repaired By Scientists
Nerve damage which was caused by multiple sclerosis (MS) was repaired by scientists from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA, who were working with mice. The scientists said it is hoped this may lead the way to new treatments for humans.
10 Oct 2007

MS Society Adverts Make The BBC, UK
Several of the stars of the MS Society's new advertising campaign have appeared in a major feature on the BBC's website. The BBC feature includes an interview with Faye Roe who stars in the 'couple' advert with her husband, Matthew.

10 Oct 2007

Israeli scientists identify: Genes that affect responses of multiple sclerosis patients to copaxone
EurekAlert! Wed, 10 Oct 2007 6:59 AM PDT
A group of Israeli scientists from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, the Weizmann Institute of Science and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have recently identified genes responsible for the positive response of many multiple sclerosis patients to the drug Copaxone®.

In Lab Study Of Multiple Sclerosis And Related Disorders, Antibody Leads To Repair Of Myelin Sheath
Medical News Today Wed, 10 Oct 2007 5:18 AM PDT
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a human antibody administered in a single low dose in laboratory mouse models can repair myelin, the insulating covering of nerves that when damaged can lead to multiple sclerosis and other disorders of the central nervous system.The study was presented at the American Neurological Association meeting in Washington, D.C. [click link for full article]

Multiple Sclerosis Nerve Damage Repaired By Scientists
Medical News Today Wed, 10 Oct 2007 1:17 AM PDT
Nerve damage which was caused by multiple sclerosis (MS) was repaired by scientists from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA, who were working with mice. The scientists said it is hoped this may lead the way to new treatments for humans. The immune system of a MS patient attacks the fatty myelin sheath which covers the nerves, gradually destroying them. [click link for full article]

Antibody repairs myelin in lab study of multiple sclerosis and related disorders
News-Medical-Net Wed, 10 Oct 2007 2:47 AM PDT
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a human antibody administered in a single low dose in laboratory mouse models can repair myelin, the insulating covering of nerves that when damaged can lead to multiple sclerosis and other disorders of the central nervous system.

Antibody Helps Repair MS Nerve Damage
HealthDay via Yahoo! News Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:01 AM PDT
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've made new strides in harnessing the body's natural ability to reverse nerve damage wrought by multiple sclerosis.

Cognitive Impairment Due To Chronic Lyme Disease Can Be Treated
Science Daily Wed, 10 Oct 2007 2:06 PM PDT
Findings from the first placebo-controlled study of chronic cognitive impairment after treated Lyme disease demonstrate that patients report moderate cognitive impairment, physical dysfunction comparable to patients with congestive heart failure, and fatigue comparable to patients with multiple sclerosis. In the study, repeated intravenous antibiotic therapy was shown to be effective in treating ...

First Placebo-Controlled Study of Cognitive Impairment Due to Chronic Lyme Disease
Newswise Wed, 10 Oct 2007 1:25 PM PDT
Findings from the first placebo-controlled study of chronic cognitive impairment after treated Lyme disease demonstrate that patients report moderate cognitive impairment, physical dysfunction comparable to patients with congestive heart failure, and fatigue comparable to patients with multiple sclerosis.

Radical new drug can reverse effects of MS in just weeks
Daily Mail Wed, 10 Oct 2007 0:30 AM PDT
Scientists have succeeded in repairing the devastating nerve damage behind multiple sclerosis. The breakthrough raises the prospect of new drugs for the debilitating condition which affects 2.5million around the world including 85,000 Britons

Scientists offer fresh hope for MS sufferers in the future
The Scotsman Tue, 09 Oct 2007 5:26 PM PDT
SCIENTISTS have succeeded in repairing the nerve damage that causes multiple sclerosis.

CNN Heroes: Battling MS with Kevin Bacon

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/10/09/bacon.heroes/index.html
When Robin Maxwell started feeling numbness and
tingling in her legs in the fall of 2006, she wasn't
overly concerned.
Robin Maxwell met Kevin Bacon through his Web site
SixDegrees.org.
Having recently run both a marathon and another
long-distance race, the 39-year-old resident of
Charlottesville, Virginia, figured she'd just been
overdoing it.
But when the pain moved up to her stomach and neck,
she became alarmed. In January 2007, her doctor called
her with the diagnosis: she had multiple sclerosis.
"I fell apart," she remembered. "Those were just the
darkest days of my life."
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a progressive
neurological disorder. According to the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society, an estimated 2.5 million
people suffer from it worldwide. A new case is
diagnosed every hour.
Symptoms can vary greatly from person to person and
can include blurred vision, loss of balance, poor
coordination, slurred speech, tremors and eventually
paralysis and blindness.
While treatment and technological advances are helping
people lead more productive lives, there is no known
cure. For Maxwell -- a marathoner, triathlete and
mother of two -- the news was a devastating blow.
Don't Miss
In Depth: CNN Heroes
How to help: Robin Maxwell MS Foundation
How to help: SixDegrees.org
Not long after her diagnosis, Maxwell heard about a
Web site that actor Kevin Bacon had started called
SixDegrees.org.
Inspired by the college trivia game Six Degrees of
Kevin Bacon, the site connected people with various
charities for fundraising purposes. There was also a
contest.
"When we first launched the site," Bacon said, "the
six people who had the most donations ... I matched
$10,000 each to the charity that they were
supporting." Watch Bacon and Maxwell discuss their
fundraising efforts »
Maxwell jumped at the chance to raise money for MS.
"It took me 30 seconds to sign up," she said. "On the
first day alone, I raised almost $850."
Maxwell set her sights on winning the contest. Joined
by her family and friends, she sent out hundreds of
e-mails urging people to donate and forward her
request to anyone else they knew.
For Maxwell, the contest provided a sense of direction
-- and a meaningful distraction -- during a tumultuous
time in her life. "Getting on the Web site gave me
something to hope for and look forward to. It was
incredible."
By the end of March, she had raised nearly $18,000 for
her local MS chapter. And she finished as one of the
top six fundraisers on Bacon's site and won $10,000
for MS research.
Bacon was impressed. "She's got that kind of energy.
And she's got that kind of fight," he said. "I think
that's why she won."
Maxwell soon started her own foundation and began
speaking at and participating in MS fundraising
events. She even started a clothing line emblazoned
with the motto she coined for herself: Perfect Health.
"I knew that if I pictured myself as being sick, it
would affect my family, children, husband, so I
decided I was in 'Perfect Health' and monogrammed that
on some of my clothes to help me picture it."
The T-shirts are now a hot seller -- and another way
she is able to raise money for the battle against MS.
"Fundraising and activism," said Maxwell, "has brought
in so much joy. ... I can be a part of what's going to
make the situation better, not just for me, but for so
many people."
Since February 2007, Maxwell has raised more than
$50,000 for MS research. She hopes to find a cure --
even though she admits the goal is daunting.
In the meantime, Maxwell is determined to show that MS
won't stop her or define her life.
"It is difficult in every aspect -- physically and
mentally -- but for some reason, I just had this
reaction,"she said. "I realized that I can set an
example. I have to stay positive."
She also recognizes that the battle is much bigger
that her own.
"I really feel the obligation, not just for my own
future but for the other people in this country that
are suffering with MS, to work on behalf of them,
especially if they're not really in a position to do
it for themselves. "
Bacon says Maxwell's determination is inspiring and
heroic: "She's not lying down without a fight. ...
She's a beautiful warrior." E-mail to a friend
CNN producers Kathleen Toner and Lyda Ely contributed
to this report.

Biogen Idec Announces Multiple Sclerosis Franchise and Pipeline ...
Ad-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung) - Germany
... and agents in development are BG-12 (dimethyl fumarate), daclizumab and RITUXAN ® (rituximab). ?The number of presentations and symposia by Biogen Idec ...
See all stories on this topic