Scientists were able to reverse some disabity in MS patients who had not developed significant neuro-degeneration. The treatment uses the patient’s own stem cells that have been harvested from bone marrow and reintroduced into the patient after their immune system has been stripped of all antibodies. The harvested stem cells proceed to rearm the bodies defenses with a new set of antibodies which seems not to include those responsible for attacking myelin and causing multiple sclerosis.

Merck has developed a pill and the claims for it are spectacular. The effectiveness is claimed to be better than any existing maintenance therapies and the manufacturer is now in the process of requesting a fast approval from European and American regulatory agencies.

Alemtuzumab (Campath) showed promise in a recent trial involving approximately 300 MS patients. The drug which was developed for the treatment of leukemia and is marketeted by Genzyme actually reduced relapses and even appeared to improve functioning for a small percentage of participants. The drug is slated to begin phase 3 trials and if results warrant might be on the market in four years.

Typically patients presenting with just one symptom  associated with multiple sclerosis may be given a diagnosis of clinically isolated syndrome and left hanging without benefit of any of the disease modifying therapies that could slow progression of multiple sclerosis, which many of these patients end up developing. Now researchers have identified gene activity that shows which of these patients are most at risk for conversion to multiple sclerosis.

An atlas of the mouse spinal cord that connects genes to functioning will help researchers develop therapies and deepen understanding of injuries and disease.

I ignored this item when first encountering it a few days ago because it seems caffeine is one of those drugs that gets attention for being either good or bad for you only to have a reversal in the media months or even days later. Right now it is of interest to persons with muliple sclerosis because lab mice receiving a dose equivelant to  6-8 cups of coffee had stopped or halted the progression for the lab model that mimics the disease. I know a lot of folks that drink coffee and have multiple sclerosis and  the profile of these caffeine consumers appears to run the gamut from mildly to severely affected. Perhaps you would take a moment to leave a comment  concerning your caffeine intake and the severity of multiple sclerosis for you.

In an effort to determine why treatments are successful for some multiple sclerosis patients but not all, researchers have identified certain types of inflammatory responses in lab animals and are investigating different agents to determine the best treatments based on cause of the inflammation.

Scientists working  with adult stem cells in laboratory animals have developed a technique that allows them to influence the fate of cells within the natural brain environment.

Laqininimod, a pill from Teva Pharmaceuticals has shown enough promise and safety in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis that the manufacturer is now preparing the product for a phase 3 study. No oral disease modifying therapy has made it past this phase in the drug trial stages, although a “cousin” of Laquinimod did survive until phase 3 when the drug was discovered to have adverse effects on the heart.