Multiple Sclerosis
Canada.com - Don Mills,Ontario,Canada
Primary-progressive MS affects 10% of people with MS and is associated with slow, but mostly continuous, worsening of the disease from the time of onset. ...
See all stories on this topic

---

• Fundraiser to help woman get MS therapy
Hamilton Spectator - Hamilton,ON,Canada
... primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The Friends of Fern group hopes the event will raise $16000 to send Johnson to Mexico to receive stem cell ...
See all stories on this topic
MediciNova to Host Analyst/Investor Meeting in New York City
Primenewswire (press release) - Los Angeles,CA,USA
MediciNova management will provide a corporate update and overview of MediciNova's two lead product development programs: MN-166, an orally administered ...
See all stories on this topic

Push is on to lift stem-cell research ban
Detroit Free Press - United States
... working with embryonic stem cells, he said. Doyle, a longtime Lansing political professional who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 10 years ago, ...
See all stories on this topic

Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells
EurekAlert (press release) - Washington,DC,USA
Physicians are looking at statins as a possible treatment for multiple sclerosis, where the myelin coating that covers nerve cells in the central nervous ...
See all stories on this topic

Why the embryo matters
The Tidings - Los Angeles,CA,USA
... multiple sclerosis and juvenile diabetes. A new technique for "reprogramming" adult cells has produced cells with the properties of embryonic stem cells ...
See all stories on this topic

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Fact Sheet
McGill University Health Center - Montreal,Quebec,Canada
The ultimate goal of his program is to provide strategies to manipulate neural stem cells and facilitate the design of approaches that may promote the ...
See all stories on this topic

Best Treatment For MS May Depend On Disease Subtype
Animal studies by University of Michigan scientists suggest that people who experience the same clinical signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) may have different forms of the disease that require different kinds of treatment.

---

Symptoms and Management

Ms. Carr

MS Program Clinical and Research Nurse
View BIO

Q :
I have been recently diagnosed with MS. Is weight gain, fluid retention part of the deal?
A :
No, weight gain and fluid retention are not part of the diagnosis of MS but we do see weight gain as a side effect of some of the therapies given to manage MS. Prednisone is one of a group of corticosteroids that are used to relieve inflammation in different parts of the body.
Corticosteroids are used in MS for the management of acute exacerbations, although the exact protocol for the drug’s use may differ somewhat from one treating physician to another. This medication can increase the appetite and increase water retention, it is advisable to follow a low-salt and/or a potassium-rich diet and watch your caloric intake. Once you have stopped the medication these symptoms should resolve over a couple of weeks.
Copaxone® is prescribed to people with relapsing remitting MS. A small number of people (5.6%) report modest weight gain after starting therapy.
If your weight gain can not be attributed to either of the above therapies I recommend you discuss your concerns with your family doctor. There may be other explanations.
7/3/2008 2:33:59 PM
More answers from Ms. Kathleen Carr
More answers in the category: Symptoms and Management

http://www.msanswers.ca/QuestionView.aspx?L=2&QID=1948
Best Treatment for MS May Depend on Disease Subtype
Newswise Tue, 01 Jul 2008 2:22 PM PDT
Relatively new drugs now help some patients, but not others, with the most common form of multiple sclerosis. That may be because patients with the same symptoms experience different types of inflammation, suggests a new study in animals from the University of Michigan. If the differences are found in people, future treatments may be tailored to specific subtypes of the disease.
News Tips From The Journal Of Neuroscience
1. Regenerative Axon Growth in Normal MiceOswald Steward, Binhai Zheng, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Maura Hofstadter, Kelli Sharp, and Kelly Matsudaira YeeThe corticospinal tract of mice exhibits some regenerative growth without any therapeutic manipulation, according to Steward et al.