Laura Barin, from the University of Zurich, and colleagues examined data from the Swiss MS Registry to identify possible causes of delay in the diagnostic process for 522 patients. The time from first contact to the first consultation and evaluation-to-diagnosis time were modeled. The researchers found that general practitioners were mostly contacted first (67 percent), which did not delay diagnosis. First symptoms...
Tag: <span>Multiple sclerosis</span>
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Inflammation: Study explains loss of protective abilities of T cells
First author of the study Dr. Garima Garg (left) and Dr. Andreas Muschaweckh, two scientists of the Experimental Neurimmunology at TUM, are working with a flow cytometer (FACS, Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting). Credit: Astrid Eckert / Technical University of Munich (TUM) Regulatory T cells (Tregs) ensure that immune responses are not too strong and that inflammation...
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Drug may delay MS disability for some
The medication is called rituximab (Rituxan). It’s used to treat a number of conditions, including certain blood cell cancers and the autoimmune condition rheumatoid arthritis. The new Swiss study found that MS patients taking the drug reported less disabling symptoms over a 10-year period than those who didn’t. People taking rituximab also had a slower...
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Gut immune cells cut inflammation in multiple sclerosis
Researchers at the University of Toronto and UC San Francisco have discovered that the intestine is the source of immune cells that reduce brain inflammation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and that increasing the number of these cells blocks inflammation entirely in a preclinical model of the disease. The cells in question are plasma...
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FDA Accepts BrainStorm’s NurOwn® IND Application for Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
U.S. Phase 2 Study to Begin in First Quarter of 2019 NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2018 — BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BCLI), a leading developer of innovative autologous adult stem cell therapeutics for debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Investigational New Drug (IND) application...
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Multiple sclerosis: Accumulation of B cells triggers nervous system damage
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH (TUM) B cells are important in helping the immune system fight pathogens. However, in the case of the neurological autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) they can damage nerve tissue. When particular control cells are missing, too many B cells accumulate in the meninges, resulting in inflammation of the central nervous system....
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New insights into the neural risks and benefits of marijuana use
Research released today underscores both the dangers and the therapeutic promise of marijuana, revealing different effects across the lifespan. Marijuana exposure in the womb or during adolescence may disrupt learning and memory, damage communication between brain regions, and disturbing levels of key neurotransmitters and metabolites in the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease, however, compounds found in...
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How salt can trigger inflammation in multiple sclerosis
Researchers at Yale have identified a high-salt environment as one of the contributing factors to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). In a new study published Oct. 29 in the journal Nature Immunology, they report just how salt can trigger the potentially disabling autoimmune disorder. Credit: CC0 Public Domain First author Tomokazu Sumida, a researcher...
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A man who received a stem-cell transplant for multiple sclerosis can walk and dance again after suffering from the disease for a decade
A man in England with multiple sclerosis can walk and dance for the first time in 10 years after receiving a stem cell transplant for the disease. Roy Palmer spent the last decade in a wheelchair without any feeling in his legs. He decided to undergo a procedure known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) after seeing the results from a television program. Two days after receiving treatment, Palmer regained feelings in his legs. HSCT is still considered to be...
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What causes multiple sclerosis? What we know, don’t know and suspect
U.S. actress Selma Blair announced on the weekend she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least,” she wrote. “And I am relieved to at least know.” People exposed to low levels of sunlight are more likely to have MS than those who live in warm climates. Credit:...