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News: May 28, 2012
Pot Might Help Ease Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms
MONDAY, May 14 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking pot can help relieve muscle tightness, called spasticity, and pain in people with multiple sclerosis, a new, small study suggests. "Spasticity is a major problem [in multiple sclerosis]," explained study ...
FDA Issues Warning on Controversial MS Treatment
THURSDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors and patients need to be aware of the potential risk of injuries and death associated with an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis called liberation therapy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administratio...
Study Finds No Link Between HPV Vaccine and Autoimmune Disorders
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil does not trigger autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type 1 diabetes or multiple sclerosis, according to a two-year study that included nea...
Multiple Sclerosis May Cause Changes in Thalamus: Study
FRIDAY, Dec. 30 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that in addition to the disabling lesions it's known to cause, multiple sclerosis also damages the part of the brain that affects thinking skills, motor function and the senses. "The thalam...
New Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Promising in Early Trial
TUESDAY, Nov. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Multiple sclerosis patients may eventually benefit from a novel treatment that takes aim at the abnormal behavior of a specific type of immune cell, preliminary research suggests. The errant behavior of the cell...
Shift Work May Put Teens at Risk for Multiple Sclerosis
MONDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Working overnight or odd shifts may increase teenagers' risk of developing multiple sclerosis, according to the results of an observational study. Researchers from Sweden who uncovered the link said interruption...
Honing in on the Genetics of MS
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- A new study on the genetic underpinnings of multiple sclerosis (MS) has identified more than 50 gene variants that may contribute to the autoimmune disease, 29 of which are new discoveries. About half of the ...
Are Newer MS Drugs Worth Their High Price Tag?
THURSDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Newer "biologic" drugs for multiple sclerosis do benefit some patients, a new study finds, but they are extraordinarily expensive and may not be cost-effective when compared to more basic treatments. That's no...
Pregnancy Safe for Most Women With MS: Study
MONDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnancy is generally safe for women with multiple sclerosis, a new study says. Canadian researchers analyzed 432 births to women with MS and almost 3,000 births to women without MS in the province of British C...
Stress Doesn't Boost Risk for Multiple Sclerosis
MONDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- Although stress can exacerbate multiple sclerosis (MS), it doesn't actually increase a person's risk for developing the disease in the first place, new research indicates. Researchers followed two groups of more ...
Study Links MS to Brain Chemical Deficiency
TUESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Multiple sclerosis is associated with reduced levels of an important neurotransmitter, noradrenaline -- a shortage caused by damage to an area of the brain called the locus coeruleus (LC), researchers have foun...
New Oral Drugs Hailed for Treating MS
MONDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- For decades, research into treatments for multiple sclerosis has plodded forward, making slow but significant gains in improving the lives of people with the degenerative nerve disorder. That steady but slow pac...
Vein-Opening Treatment for MS Stirs Controversy
TUESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Preliminary research and reports from patients suggest that a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis can help relieve fatigue and other symptoms, but many physicians remain highly skeptical of the claim...
How MS Affects Kids May Differ by Race
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A new U.S. study finds that multiple sclerosis impairs certain cognitive functions more severely in black children than white children. The findings may lead to new types of individualized treatment, said the ...
Meditation Soothes MS Patients
TUESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A new Swiss study reports that a form of meditation known as mindfulness may help patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients with MS -- a nervous system disease that typically surfaces in early adulthood and c...
Animal Studies Offer Insights Into MS
THURSDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Direct interaction between immune cells and nerve cells (neurons) appears to play a major role in neuronal damage associated with multiple sclerosis, says a new European study. This interaction may offer a ne...
FDA Approves 1st Oral Drug to Reduce MS Relapses
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first oral drug to reduce relapses of multiple sclerosis, the nervous system disorder that has traditionally been treated with injectable drugs...
Gilenya Approved for Relapsing MS
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Gilenya (fingolimod) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce relapses and delay disability progression in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The drug is among a n...
Vitamin D May Influence Genes for Cancer, Autoimmune Disease
TUESDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have discovered a link between vitamin D and genes related to autoimmune diseases and cancer. The finding may explain why vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for a number of serious illnesses, incl...
FDA Panel Endorses 1st Oral Drug for Multiple Sclerosis
THURSDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- An expert advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended that the agency approve an oral drug, Gilenia, as a first-line treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Gilenia appears t...
Eye Exam May Someday Spot Multiple Sclerosis
THURSDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- A simple eye test may one day help diagnose multiple sclerosis in its earliest stages and enable researchers to assess the effectiveness of treatments, according to a new study. The test -- optical coherence t...
Genetic Variants Tied to MS, Study Finds
SUNDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Variants of a gene called CBLB are associated with multiple sclerosis in humans, a new study finds. Previous research found that variants of CBLB, which is normally responsible for moderating immune response, infl...
Twins Study Points to Environmental Cause for MS
WEDNESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Genetics can't seem to explain why one twin would have multiple sclerosis while an identical twin doesn't, a new study finds. That leaves scientists still stumped as to what causes multiple sclerosis (MS), a...
Cholesterol Drugs May Slow MS
FRIDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may slow the progression of multiple sclerosis, according to a new study. It included 81 patients with early-stage MS randomly selected to take either 80 milligrams a day of Li...
Discovery May Lead to Better Multiple Sclerosis Treatments
MONDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- There may be two types of multiple sclerosis and each may respond differently to treatment with the first-line drug commonly prescribed for the condition, new research suggests. Among multiple sclerosis (MS) pa...
Fitness Boosts Brain Power in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise appears to protect the brains of people with multiple sclerosis, new study findings suggest. Researchers assessed fitness, cognitive function and brain structural changes in 21 women with relapsing-r...
Added Drug Aids MS Treatment
TUESDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Adding the drug daclizumab to standard treatment with interferon beta may reduce multiple sclerosis disease activity more than interferon beta alone, a new study reports. Previous non-randomized studies found t...
Drinking Milk While Pregnant May Lower Kids' MS Risk
TUESDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Children born to mothers who drink lots of milk and have a high dietary intake of vitamin D during pregnancy have a much lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis later in life, researchers say. The new study ...
Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
FRIDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer patients, glaucoma patients and others can benefit from medical marijuana, and now a new analysis shows that it can help multiple sclerosis (MS) patients find relief from the muscle spasms that are the hal...
Childbirth May Slow Progression of Multiple Sclerosis
TUESDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Having children may slow the progression of multiple sclerosis, new research suggests. Belgian researchers followed 330 women who had experienced their first MS symptoms between the ages of 22 and 38.
MS Need Not Preclude Pregnancy
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that having multiple sclerosis puts pregnant women at slightly higher risk for giving birth via cesarean deliveries or having babies that grow at a slower rate in the womb. But the resea...
Teen Obesity Ups MS Risk in Women
TUESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- While there are plenty of good reasons to avoid obesity in your teens, a new study now suggests that extra weight in adolescence may increase your risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) later. Reporting in the Nov. 10...
Early Relapse of MS May Mean Fewer Issues Later
FRIDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that people with multiple sclerosis who have relapses within five years of developing the disease are more likely to suffer from severe limitations in the short term than others with the con...
Light Touch Helps Grip of MS Patients
FRIDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Using a gentle touch may help make it easier for people with multiple sclerosis to pick up and hold objects, a new study suggests. People with MS use excessive force when lifting objects, which can lead to fatig...
Early Drug Treatment May Cut Multiple Sclerosis Risk
TUESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients who show early signs of multiple sclerosis, treatment with a drug called glatiramer acetate appears to halve the risk that they will develop full-blown disease, new research suggests. About 85 per...
Two Genes May Determine How Well MS Patients Do
FRIDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Two genes in mice have been linked to improvements in the body's ability to repair itself when afflicted with multiple sclerosis, potentially leading to more effective treatments, a U.S. scientist reports. "Mos...
Scientists Find Clue to Dangerous Side Effect of MS Drug
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists may have discovered part of the reason why Tysabri, a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis, may lead to the development of a rare but potentially deadly brain disease in some patients. The drug se...
Smoking Worsens Multiple Sclerosis
MONDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to be at higher risk for the brain lesions linked with the disease and for brain shrinkage, new research suggests. "Our study is showing that MS is more destruct...
Blood Pressure Drug Might Work Against MS
MONDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Dr. Lawrence Steinman has this seemingly crazy idea that a drug commonly used to combat high blood pressure can help prevent the damage done to nerve cells in multiple sclerosis. But people in the know tend to l...
Extavia Approved for Multiple Sclerosis
MONDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Extavia (interferon beta-1b) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat multiple sclerosis, drug maker Novartis said Monday. The drug was approved for people in whom the autoimmune disea...
Scientists Reverse Multiple Sclerosis in Mice
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental treatment that suppresses the immune system to put multiple sclerosis into remission completely reversed the disease in mice, Canadian scientists say. In MS, the immune system attacks the cent...
Smoking May Speed Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms
MONDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) -- In addition to the well-known hazards of smoking, research now suggests that the dangerous habit causes a more rapid progression of multiple sclerosis. The new findings are from a study that included 1,465 multi...
Breast-feeding OK for Most Moms with MS
MONDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- New moms with multiple sclerosis who want to breast-feed but worry it might cause their disease to relapse may be reassured by a new study that discovered this is not the case for most women. The study, in the Ju...
Herb May Offer Hope for Autoimmune Diseases
THURSDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- A compound derived from hydrangea root, an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, halted the progression of an autoimmune disorder in laboratory mice and human cells, new research shows. What makes the comp...
Synthetic Vitamin A-Like Molecule Blocks Early MS
FRIDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- A synthetic vitamin A molecule has shown promise as an early treatment for multiple sclerosis. In tests in mice, Christian Klemann and colleagues at the National Institute of Neuroscience in Tokyo found that the ...
Researcher IDs Narcolepsy as Autoimmune Disease
MONDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Stanford University researchers say they have determined that the sleep disorder narcolepsy is actually an autoimmune disease. The finding, published in the May 3 online issue of Nature Genetics, links narcolepsy ...
Leukemia Risk From MS Drug May Be Up
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of developing leukemia from a drug used to treat rapidly-progressing multiple sclerosis is three times higher than previously reported, new research shows. Italian researchers found that for every 1,...
Drug Combo May Relieve MS Symptoms
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Using a steroid drug in combination with a multiple sclerosis (MS) drug may give patients more relief from symptoms than using the MS drug alone, suggests a new study. In the study, which included 341 people ...
Tysabri May Treat Myelin Sheath Damage From MS
TUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Tysabri (natalizumab) appears to regenerate and stabilize damage done to the myelin sheath in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study from drug makers Biogen Idec and Elan Corp shows. MS is nervo...
Fat-Derived Stem Cells Might Treat MS
SUNDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Stem cells taken from the fat tissue of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may help treat the disease, suggests a preliminary study that included three patients. The successful use of the stromal vascular frac...
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