Multiple Sclerosis

Educating And Enhancing The Role Of Belgian MS Nurses

The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP) and the organisations representing multiple sclerosis (MS) societies in Belgium launched the French and Flemish language training modules of MS Nurse Pro, an educational programme dedicated to European MS nurses. The launch took place on 16 November, in Brussels, Belgium. The co-organisers were the Belgium MS League, the Flemish […]

Cerebrospinal Fluid Prognostic Biomarkers In Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune and disabling disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS) of unknown etiology. As a diagnostic marker for MS does not exist, prognostic biomarkers of disease severity become clinically relevant. Several CSF biomarkers related to the pathogenesis of brain lesions of MS are displayed. Neurofilament light protein, glial fibrillary […]

EMSP’s MS Nurse Pro: Recognizing The Key Role Of MS Nurses

MS Nurse PROfessional  is a ground-breaking online educational tool for nurses and healthcare professionals caring for those with multiple sclerosis (MS). It is a program designed to standardize care for people with MS across Europe and support nurses to develop the knowledge and skills they need. What is Multiple Sclerosis? MS is a complex, chronic, […]

European Multiple Sclerosis Platform January 2015 Newsletter

Please click here to view the EMSP January 2015 Newsletter

European Multiple Sclerosis Platform November 2014 Newsletter

Please click here to view the EMSP November 2014 Newsletter

A Collaborative Initiative To Improve MS Research And Policy Across Europe

   

2014 Joint Actrims-Ectrims Meeting – EMSP Highlights Report

  2014 Joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS Meeting EMSP Highlights Report   For us at the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP), medical congresses are one of the highlights of our calendar and this year’s joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS congress held in Boston was no exception. Congresses enable healthcare professionals and researchers to share the latest clinical updates and scientific breakthroughs; […]

MS Clinical Care Network

Low Incidence Of Venous Insufficiency In MS

Results of a study using several imaging methods showed that CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) occurs at a low rate in both people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and

Time To First Relapse As An Endpoint In Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trials

Dr. Maria Pia Sormani Department of Health Sciences, University of Genova, Italy

Future MS Care: A Consensus Statement Of The MS In The 21st Century Steering Group

Prof. Peter Rieckmann Department of Neurology, Sozialstiftung Bamberg Hospital, Bamberg, Germany

FDA Approves Oral MS Drug Teriflunomide

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the latest oral therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis, teriflunomide (Aubagio), but it will carry a strong warning that it increases the risk of fetal harm.

CombiRx For MS Not Better Than Monotherapy

Glatiramer acetate and interferon beta-1a used in combination were no more effective for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis than were either agent alone in a 3-year, randomized trial.

Is there A Multiple Sclerosis Epidemic And Is It The Result Of A Plethora Of Etiological Factors Or Of An As Yet Unknown Or Emergent Latent Risk Factor?

Bernd Krone, Institute of Virology, University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, and Laboratory Medicine Institute Kassel, Druseltalstrasse 61, 34131 Kassel, Germany, Email b.krone@staber-kollegen.de

Why some Multiple Sclerosis- Patients stop Disease Modifying Treatment in MS and why some Don’t start at all

Nina Grytten Torkildsen National Multiple Sclerosis Competence Centre, Dept. of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital Norway

Interferon-Beta Fails to Slow the Progression of Disability in MS

Interferon-beta therapy did not slow the long-term progression of disability in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in a retrospective cohort study based on prospectively collected data.

How Does Multiple Sclerosis Progress? Possible Clues Discovered

Researchers have discovered that one or more substances produced by a certain type of immune cell may be involved in the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease affecting the brain and spinal cord, may be involved caused by. The finding might lead to new, targeted treatments for those suffering from MS.

Drug For Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s And MS Shows Promise

A “one-size-fits-all” new class of drugs that targets a particular type of brain inflammation is showing early promise for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury.

BG-12 Cuts Relapse Rate, Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis

Full results of the second phase III trial of dimethyl fumarate in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis show that the investigational drug significantly reduces annualized relapse rates and MRI lesions over the course of 2 years

THC Fails to Delay Progression of Multiple Sclerosis

Tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active ingredient in marijuana, did not slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in a 3-year, randomized trial of 493 British patients with primary or secondary progressive forms of the disease. Some patients with lower baseline EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) scores appeared to have delayed progression, but the trial did not have […]

Balloon Angioplasty Improves Venous Flow in MS Patients

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. – Percutaneous balloon angioplasty improved flow dynamics in multiple sclerosis patients with chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in a pilot study. An association has been made recently between multiple sclerosis and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) that is characterized by stenosis and reflux of the principal extracranial venous drainage, including the internal jugular […]

Study Finds Many Missed MS Diagnoses in Emergency Department

An emergency department at an academic medical institution with a multiple sclerosis center missed diagnosing multiple sclerosis in nearly 40% of patients who were later diagnosed with the disease, calling into question what the rate of missed cases might be at smaller centers staffed by fewer specialists. The retrospective study analyzed assessments for neurologic symptoms […]

Algorithm May Help Cut PML Risk With Natalizumab

The risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy from natalizumab therapy appears to be greater than previously thought, being greatest in multiple sclerosis patients with certain risk factors, according to an updated analysis. The analysis provides an algorithm that might help clinicians hone in on which patients are least or most likely to develop PML, and […]

Vitamin D Levels Correspond to Disability in MS

Higher vitamin D levels are associated with slightly less disability and greater preservation of gray matter in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a 5-year observational study. The researchers assessed 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, clinical disability, and MRI brain volumes annually in 469 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome, all members of […]

Fingolimod Label Advises ECG Monitoring at First Dose

Every patient should get an electrocardiogram prior to and 6 hours after the first dose of fingolimod, and hourly blood pressure and heart rate measurements in between, to assess for bradycardia, according to revised labeling released by the Food and Drug Administration on May 9.

Initiate Interferon Beta-1a Early to Delay Progression to MS

Patients with an apparent first demyelinating event who are treated early with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a experience a significantly longer time until progression to multiple sclerosis, compared with those whose treatment is initiated after diagnosis with clinically definite MS, according to 3-year results from the ongoing phase III, double-blind REFLEX extension trial.

Laquinimod Halted MS Disability But Not Relapses

The multiple sclerosis drug laquinimod did not reduce the risk of relapse in the BRAVO phase III trial, yet the investigational agent delayed the progression of disability to a greater extent than did placebo. The BRAVO trial also included an open comparator arm against interferon beta-1a (IFNB-1a, Avonex), which proved to reduce brain lesions on […]

Multiple Sclerosis Does Not Hurt Pregnancy, Birth Outcomes

Women with multiple sclerosis can be reassured that should they choose to become pregnant, they are generally not at any greater risk of adverse pregnancy or birth outcomes than are similar women without the disease, according to a retrospective cohort study.

IL-7 Level May Mark Interferon Responsiveness

Serum levels of interleukin-7 helped determine which patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis would benefit from treatment with interferon-beta in a series of experiments involving human sera and mice with experimental autoimmune encephalo-myelitis.

New MS Criteria Aim to Simplify Diagnosis

An international panel has revised the McDonald criteria for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis to simplify the use of imaging in determining the dissemination of central nervous system lesions both in space and time, while preserving sensitivity and specificity.