Researchers Engineer First System Of Human Nerve Cell Tissue
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system

MS Society Offers Another Line Of Support, UK
The MS Society is reaching out to more people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) than ever before thanks to the launch of an email Helpline facility.For some people, sending an email is easier than making a call and those in need of information and emotional support can now take advantage of a new way of contacting the award-winning MS Society Helpline.

MS Societies In UK And Australia Provide International Research Opportunities
Worldwide collaborative links between researchers investigating the debilitating neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS) have been strengthened thanks to the introduction of the first UK and Australian Fellowship Exchange programme.

Protein Screen Offers Clues To Future Treatment Options, UK
A study published in this month shows how proteins might be important in the underlying processes occurring in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).This relatively novel work is screening and identifying 27 Feb 2008

Tysabri May Cause Liver Damage, Health Officials Say
HealthDay via Yahoo! News Wed, 27 Feb 2008 2:03 PM PST
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The controversial multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri can start causing liver damage within six days of the first dose, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.

Biogen and Elan warn of liver injury from Tysabri
Reuters via Yahoo! News Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:26 PM PST
Biogen Idec Inc and Elan Corp Plc have warned doctors of significant liver injury suffered by some patients taking the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday.

Biogen, Elan warn of liver injury from Tysabri
Reuters via Yahoo! News Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:56 AM PST
Biogen Idec Inc and Elan Corp Plc are warning doctors about reports of "significant" liver injury suffered by patients taking their Tysabri multiple sclerosis drug, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday.

Tysabri May Cause Liver Damage, Health Officials Say
KOLD News 13 Tuscon Wed, 27 Feb 2008 2:42 PM PST
By Steven Reinberg , HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The controversial multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri can start causing liver damage...

MS Societies In UK And Australia Provide International Research Opportunities
Medical News Today Wed, 27 Feb 2008 6:05 AM PST
Worldwide collaborative links between researchers investigating the debilitating neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS) have been strengthened thanks to the introduction of the first UK and Australian Fellowship Exchange programme.

MS Society Offers Another Line Of Support, UK
Medical News Today Wed, 27 Feb 2008 6:05 AM PST
The MS Society is reaching out to more people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) than ever before thanks to the launch of an email Helpline facility.For some people, sending an email is easier than making a call and those in need of information and emotional support can now take advantage of a new way of contacting the award-winning MS Society Helpline.

Protein Screen Offers Clues To Future Treatment Options, UK
Medical News Today Wed, 27 Feb 2008 5:07 AM PST
A study published in this month shows how proteins might be important in the underlying processes occurring in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).This relatively novel work is screening and identifying proteins involved in MS, particularly in the different types of lesion in the central nervous system of people with MS.

Designer Diagnostics Begins Marketing First Ever Environmental Test Kit For The Detection Of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria
Medical News Today Wed, 27 Feb 2008 4:05 AM PST
Nutra Pharma Corp. (OTCBB:NPHC), a biotechnology company that is developing drugs for HIV and Multiple Sclerosis, has announced that its wholly-owned medical devices subsidiary, Designer Diagnostics, has started marketing the first-ever environmental test kit for the detection of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) in water and soil.

Adult stem cells used to treat MS
KING5 Seattle Tue, 26 Feb 2008 6:12 PM PST
Adult stem cells are being used to successfully treat patients with heart disease, even autoimmune disorders. One man with multiple sclerosis says his symptoms are completely gone.

Multiple sclerosis stem cells

HealthFirst-Adult stem cell therapy
ABC12.com - Flint,MI,USA
HealthFirst reporter Leslie LoBue says one patient diagnosed with multiple sclerosis says his symptoms are gone. Barry Goudy was diagnosed with multiple ...
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OTCPicks.com Daily Market Movers Digest Midday Report
TransWorldNews (press release) - Monroe,GA,USA
Its principal stem cell products are solutions containing allo stem cell biological solutions, either adult stem cells, and stem cells that are extracted ...
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Study: Stem cells have great potential
abc7.com - Los Angeles,CA,USA
At least one patient with multiple sclerosis went into remission after treatment with adult stem cells. Experts think other diseases like diabetes will ...
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Adult Stem Cells May Treat Many Diseases
WebMD - USA
Since the late 1990s, adult stem cell therapy has been used experimentally to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, ...
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Adult stem cells used to treat MS
KING5.com - Seattle,WA,USA
After Barry Goudy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995, he began losing feeling in his left leg, then his vision started to go. ...
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Adult Stem Cells Show They Can Conquer More Than Cancer
WRAL.com - Raleigh,NC,USA
Now it's being used to treat heart trouble and other diseases – and it even helped a man with multiple sclerosis. Barry Goudy learned he had multiple ...
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Stopping MS

Stopping MS
WFTV 9 Orlando Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:17 PM PST
About 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease that causes difficult walking and an inability to control breathing. But doctors are testing a new drug that could stop the disease in its tracks. VIDEO: Stopping MS
HEALTH NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Wed, 27 Feb 2008 9:24 PM PST
"Diabetic Dining Made Easy" will be offered Wednesday, and April 2 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and again April 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at VCU Women's Health Care, 9000 Stony Point Parkway. The cost is $35. Elizabeth Horn of Disability Benefits Assistance will speak at the Hanover Multiple Sclerosis Support Group meeting today at 7 p.m. at Commonwealth Wholesale Inc., 10085 Leadbetter Place, Ashland.

Multiple Sclerosis, Cannabinoids, and Cognition
Journal of Neuropsychiatry (subscription) - USA
79 This review also reported that chronic progressive multiple sclerosis patients display maximal deficits on frontal-executive tasks, whereas patients with ...
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Tysabri

Thursday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International ...
FinFacts Ireland - Ireland
A total of 21100 multiple sclerosis patients were being treated with Tysabri early last month. The company recently received permission from the FDA to ...
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Tysabri May Cause Significant Liver Injury
Medscape (subscription) - USA
February 27, 2008 — Significant liver injury has been reported in some patients receiving treatment with natalizumab (Tysabri, Biogen Idec, Inc), ...
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Biogen warns of liver damage risk from Tysabri Mass High Tech: The ...
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
Last month, the FDA approved the Tysabri as a treatment for a chronic inflammatory condition called Crohn's disease. The treatment was previously approved ...
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Wednesday's Health Winners & Losers
TheStreet.com - USA
Biogen IdecBIIB and ElanELN lost ground after the FDA posted a letter to doctors warning about the effects of the companies' multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri ...
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Biogen's Tysabri May Cause Liver Injury, US Says (Update3)
Bloomberg - USA
s multiple sclerosis medicine Tysabri may harm the liver within six days of the first dose, US regulators said, urging doctors to warn patients about the ...
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Hepatoxicity Warning Added to Natalizumab (Tysabri) Label
MedPage Today - Little Falls,NJ,USA
27 -- The multiple sclerosis drug natalizumab (Tysabri) may cause clinically significant liver injury, which can occur as early as six days after the ...
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Shares of Biogen and Elan fall on reports of liver damage in ...
International Herald Tribune - France
The companies issued a warning to doctors that signs of liver injury appeared in patients as early as six days after first taking Tysabri. ...
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Biogen's Tysabri May Cause Liver Injury, US Says (Update2)
Bloomberg - USA
s multiple sclerosis medicine Tysabri may cause significant liver injury within six days of the first dose, US regulators said. Patients should stop taking ...
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Biogen, Elan warn of liver injury from Tysabri
Reuters - USA
Signs of liver damage occurred in some patients as early as six days after their first dose of Tysabri, the companies said in their letter. ...
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Biogen, Elan warn of liver injury risks w/Tysabri in letter posted ...
CNNMoney.com - USA
'In some patients, liver injury recurred upon rechallenge, providing evidence that Tysabri caused the injury.' Any patients exhibiting signs of jaundice or ...
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Elan's credit rating outlook raised to positive by Moody's ...
CNNMoney.com - USA
Moody's Analyst Michael Levesque said other positive developments for the drugmaker include the recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of Tysabri ...
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Acorda Therapeutics Q4 Loss Widens On Expenses
RTT News - Williamsville,NY,USA
We also initiated investments for the commercialization of Fampridine-SR, if approved.” As of December 31, 2007, Acorda held cash, cash equivalents and ...
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Acorda Therapeutics Announces Acquisition of Aminopyridine and Pre ...
FOXBusiness - USA
Acorda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing therapies for spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis and related nervous system disorders. ...
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Novartis premium threatened by sparse new drugs
Guardian Unlimited - UK
It lacks any obvious billion-dollar seller candidates with the possible exception of FTY720 for multiple sclerosis. Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel ...
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Cytomegalovirus Infection in Paediatric Haemopoietic Stem Cell ...
Irish Medical Journal - Dublin,Ireland
The pan T-cell antibody Campath was incorporated into conditioning regimens for patients undergoing unrelated transplants. Three patients had ex vivo T-cell ...
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NeoStem Reports Positive Stem Cell Industry Research Trends From ...
Earthtimes - London,UK
... multiple sclerosis and arthritis. More than 500 of these are for autologous use, meaning the stem cells come from your own body for your own use. ...
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Acute and Chronic Lyme Disease: Controversies for Neuropsychiatry
Journal of Neuropsychiatry (subscription) - USA
Small areas of abnormality in the white matter that are hyperintense on T2W MRI, similar to those seen in multiple sclerosis, may be present. ...
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Chef With Multiple Sclerosis Uses Culinary Skills And Passion For Golf To Support National MS Society Michigan Chapter
Medical News Today Thu, 28 Feb 2008 2:05 AM PST
The first thing that Chef Bill Pikarski wants you to know is that Multiple Sclerosis is not a death sentence. Nor does it mean that you cannot live a full, rewarding life. After being diagnosed with MS in August of 2002, Pikarski went through a period of depression and denial. Two things helped change his outlook: The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and golf.

Yale Scientists Create Artificial “Cells” that Boost the Immune Response to Cancer

http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-02-26-03.all.html

New Haven, Conn. — Using artificial cell-like particles, Yale biomedical engineers have devised a rapid and efficient way to produce a 45-fold enhancement of T cell activation and expansion, an immune response important for a patient’s ability to fight cancer and infectious diseases, according to an advance on line report in Molecular Therapy.

The artificial cells, developed by Tarek Fahmy, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Yale and his graduate student Erin Steenblock, are made of a material commonly used for biodegradable sutures. The authors say that the new method is the first “off-the-shelf” antigen-presenting artificial cell that can be tuned to target a specific disease or infection.

“This procedure is likely to make it to the clinic rapidly,” said senior author Fahmy. “All of the materials we use are natural, biodegradable already have FDA approval.”

Cancer, viral infections and autoimmune diseases have responded to immunotherapy that boosts a patient’s own antigen-specific T cells. In those previous procedures, a patient’s immune cells were harvested and then exposed to cells that stimulate the activation and proliferation of antigen-specific T-cells. The “boosted” immune cells were then infused back into the patient to attack the disease.

Limitations of these procedures include costly and tedious custom isolation of cells for individual patients and the risk of adverse reaction to foreign cells, according to the Yale researchers. They also pointed to difficulty in obtaining and maintaining sufficient numbers of activated T-cells for effective therapeutic response.

In the new system, the outer surface of each particle is covered in universal adaptor molecules that serve as attachment points for antigens — molecules that activate the patient’s T-cells to recognize and fight off the targeted disease — and for stimulatory molecules. Inside of each particle, there are slowly released cytokines that further stimulate the activated T-cells to proliferate to as much as 45 times their original number.

“Our process introduces several important improvements,” said lead author Steenblock. “First, the universal surface adaptors allow us to add a span of targeting antigen and co-stimulatory molecules. We can also create a sustained release of encapsulated cytokines. These enhancements mimic the natural binding and signaling events that lead to T-cell proliferation in the body. It also causes a fast and effective stimulation of the patient’s T-cells — particularly T-cells of the cytotoxic type important for eradicating cancer.”

“Safe and efficient T-cell stimulation and proliferation in response to specific antigens is a goal of immunotherapy against infectious disease and cancer,” said Fahmy. “Our ability to manipulate this response so rapidly and naturally with an “off the shelf” reproducible biomaterial is a big step forward.”

Fahmy was recently awarded a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award for work on this process and ways of engineering biomaterials to manipulate immune responses to fight cancer and other diseases. His approach incorporates signals important for T-cell stimulation in biocompatible polymer particulates, and integrates all the signals needed for efficient T-cell stimulation.

According to the NSF, devices as such these offer ease and flexibility in targeting different types of T-cells, and is expected to lead to state of the art improvements in the preparation of a new generation of therapeutic systems.

The US Department of Homeland Security provided partial funding for this work.

Citation: Molecular Therapy (advance online February 26, 2008)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2008

http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-02-26-03.all.html

Tarek Fahmy and Erin Steenblock monitor T-cell activation as tool for fighting cancer

Stimulatory particles (red) bound to activated T-cells (blue) as seen by fluorescence microscopy. Scale bar = 10 μm

Adult stem cells offer hope for gravely ill

Adult stem cells offer hope for gravely ill
Louisville Courier-Journal - Louisville,KY,USA
Researchers also are looking at using them to treat autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Adult stem cells are different from the controversial ...
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‘The best friends in the world’
La Crosse Tribune - La Crosse,WI,USA
In June, as doctors prepared Greg for a stem cell transplant, they discovered he had leukemia. That meant another 50 days in the hospital for more heavy ...
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Euthanasia: 'We should not be made to suffer like this'
Daily Telegraph Sun, 24 Feb 2008 4:22 PM PST
As Luxembourg joins Holland and Belgium in legalising euthanasia, Val McKay, terminally ill with multiple sclerosis, tells Jocasta Shakespeare why the law in Britain should change.

Biogen Fourth-Quarter Net Rises 85 Percent on Tysabri (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
Profit excluding certain costs beat analysts' estimates by 9 cents a share Revenue rose 26 percent from a year earlier to $893 million as sales of Tysabri ...
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Elan mulls technology unit spin-off: report
Reuters - USA
The company is considering splitting its biopharmaceuticals arm, which markets its flagship multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, from EDT, the paper said. ...
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Montel Williams Quit Because Of MS
Starpulse.com - Branford,CT,USA
Talk show host Montel Williams has quit his long-running TV show because the multiple sclerosis he suffers from is beginning to take a grip. ...
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Hoping on healing

Hoping on healing
Glens Falls Post-Star - Glens Falls,NY,USA
Rosary is a 28-year-old single mother with a form of multiple sclerosis called "relapsing and remitting," in which a crippling attack can take place at any ...
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Brain drug target discovery in MS
BBC News Sun, 17 Feb 2008 2:35 PM PST
US researchers find two potential targets for treating multiple sclerosis after studying proteins in the brain.
New targets found for MS treatments
The Scotsman Sun, 17 Feb 2008 4:25 PM PST
SCIENTISTS have found two new potential treatment targets for multiple sclerosis.

Tasty ways to raise money and awareness; MS Global Dinner Parties ...
St. Catharines Standard - St. Catharines,Ontario,Canada
Ladies and gentleman, students, staff: my speech is on multiple sclerosis." That's right, MS. How I can recall the exact opening lines of my Grade 4 ...
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Mercury is dangerous
The Coloradoan - Fort Collins,CO,USA
Colorado is ground zero for mercury in soil and also has the highest incidence of new cases of multiple sclerosis in the country, which can be related to ...
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Q Therapeutics Announces Series B Investment
News & Observer - Raleigh,NC,USA
Q-Cells are applicable to a wide range of demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), transverse myelitis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury ...
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Acorda Therapeutics Q4 Loss Widens On Expenses [ACOR]
RTT News - Williamsville,NY,USA
We also initiated investments for the commercialization of Fampridine-SR, if approved.” As of December 31, 2007, Acorda held cash, cash equivalents and ...
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‘I’m not afraid to die, but I worry about how and where it’ll happen’
ic Wales - United Kingdom
Siaron West has been looking after husband Peter, who suffers from primary progressive multiple sclerosis, at their home in Heath, Cardiff. ...
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Lawyer argues killer's health at risk if jailed

Raising Funds For MS Research One Party At A Time, Canada
Medical News Today (press release) - UK
They'll be joined by others around the world hosting parties in support of research to end multiple sclerosis. "We believe that the MS Global Dinner Party ...
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ZymoGenetics, Inc. Q4 2007 Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA
We also expect to begin two multiple sclerosis studies in the early part of this year. One is the Phase 2 study in relapsing-remitting disease and the other ...
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Active Biotech Year-End Report January-December 2007
PharmaLive.com (press release) - Newtown,PA,USA
Comments from President and CEO Sven Andréasson: "During the year, the US and European regulatory authorities approved laquinimod for Phase III and ...
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Experimental MS drug shows promise, offers new window on disease
Science Centric - Sofia,Sofia Town,Bulgaria
The study, reported in the 14 February 2008 issue of the 'New England Journal of Medicine,' showed that the drug, rituximab, dramatically reduced the number ...
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Cancer drug slows multiple sclerosis
Reuters via Yahoo! News Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:26 PM PST
Two infusions of the cancer drug Rituxan given 2 weeks apart slowed the progression of multiple sclerosis for nearly 1 year, researchers reported on Wednesday.

CORRECTION: Cancer drug slows multiple sclerosis progression
Reuters via Yahoo! News Wed, 13 Feb 2008 7:28 PM PST
Two infusions of the cancer drug Rituxan given two weeks apart slowed the progression of multiple sclerosis for nearly a year, researchers reported on Wednesday.

Drug that targets different part of immune system may help multiple sclerosis patients
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Wed, 13 Feb 2008 6:24 PM PST
An experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis that targets a portion of the immune system not previously subjected to therapy reduced damaging lesions of the nervous system by 91 percent and relapses of the disease by 58 percent, researchers reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Marijuana slows thinking in MS patients
UPI Thu, 14 Feb 2008 3:55 PM PST
Smoking marijuana may make cognitive and emotional problems worse in multiple sclerosis patients, a Canadian study finds.

MS therapy shows promise in test
Los Angeles Times Thu, 14 Feb 2008 0:16 AM PST
A cancer drug greatly reduces brain lesions and relapses in patients with the most common form of the disabling disease. An experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis that targets a portion of the immune system not previously subjected to therapy reduced damaging lesions of the nervous system by 91% and relapses of the disease by 58%, researchers report today.

Pot may impair mental function in MS patients
CTV.ca Thu, 14 Feb 2008 5:22 AM PST
Patients with multiple sclerosis who choose to smoke marijuana to help relieve some of their symptoms may be harming their cognitive abilities, finds new Canadian research.

Smoking pot may slow MS sufferers' thoughts
New Scientist Thu, 14 Feb 2008 3:12 AM PST
People with multiple sclerosis who smoke marijuana may process thoughts more slowly than people with MS who do not, hints a preliminary study

Promising Experimental MS Drug Offers New Window On Disease
Medical News Today Thu, 14 Feb 2008 5:17 AM PST
A drug therapy currently used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis had a significant effect in treating the most common form of multiple sclerosis in a small, short-term clinical trial.

Smoking Marijuana Impairs Cognitive Function In MS Patients
Medical News Today Thu, 14 Feb 2008 1:15 AM PST
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who smoke marijuana are more likely to have emotional and memory problems, according to research published February 13, 2008, in the online edition of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Lawyer argues killer's health at risk if jailed
ABC via Yahoo!7 News Wed, 13 Feb 2008 8:13 PM PST
A Supreme Court judge is being urged not to jail a young man who has been convicted of manslaughter, with lawyers arguing it could worsen his multiple sclerosis.

Wednesday's Winners & Losers: Nortel Networks
TheStreet.com - USA
Acorda will use the proceeds to finish its second late-stage clinical trial on multiple sclerosis treatment Fampridine-SR and for a regulatory filing and ...
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Wednesday's Health Winners & Losers
TheStreet.com - USA
Acorda will use the proceeds to finish its second late-stage clinical trial on multiple sclerosis treatment Fampridine-SR and for a regulatory filing and ...
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Acorda Therapeutics Q4 Loss Widens On Expenses [ACOR]
RTT News - Williamsville,NY,USA
We also initiated investments for the commercialization of Fampridine-SR, if approved.” As of December 31, 2007, Acorda held cash, cash equivalents and ...
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Genentech, Biogen's Rituxan Cuts Relapses of Multiple Sclerosis
Bloomberg - USA
s Campath has shown a similar effect in clinical trials, he said. ``The real strength is the magnitude of effect on the MRI, the relapse rate, ...
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Genzyme Delivers Strong Fourth Quarter to Conclude Outstanding Year
PR Newswire (press release) - New York,NY,USA
Genzyme(R), Myozyme(R), Fabrazyme(R), Cerezyme(R), Renagel(R), Renvela(R), Thymoglobulin(R), Synvisc(R), Campath(R) and Clolar(R) are registered trademarks ...
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