The Alberta government says it will spend $1-million to track the results of people who have travelled overseas to have a controversial multiple sclerosis treatment not currently available in Canada.
Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky says the web-based study will help determine whether the province should proceed with a clinical trial of a procedure that opens veins in an MS sufferer’s neck.
More about Alberta to observe MS patients who went abroad for ‘liberation therapy’ – The Globe and Mail
Posted in CCSVI, Research| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
“The results seem very promising but we don’t have details,” he said, noting they will be presented in early 2011. “Then, we will be much smarter.”
Teva said the laquinimod study comparing efficacy against a placebo met the primary endpoint of reducing annualized relapse rates, and treatment with the drug significantly slowed progression of disability.
More about RPT-UPDATE 2-Teva multiple sclerosis pill shines in big study | Reuters
Posted in Pharma, Research, Treatments| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
Eating purple-coloured fruit such as blueberries “could help ward off Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s”, The Daily Telegraph has reported. The newspaper says the foods act by soaking up harmful iron compounds.
This theory is based on a scientific paper that looked at the chemical and biological actions of iron and chemicals that bind to it. The author summarises a body of evidence that suggests that a form of iron may play a role in many different diseases, also providing a number of simple predictions of how this might occur.
Crucially, this paper only presents a theory, and we do not yet know if the theory is true. Foods that might react with iron, such as blueberries, are also only mentioned in passing in this paper. Stronger evidence is needed to see whether iron plays a role in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. If it does, this could be followed by studies looking at how food might intervene in the actions of iron.
More about News claims that purple fruits may combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – Health News – NHS Choices
Posted in Research| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
Studies on rats by Cambridge and Edinburgh University researchers identified how to help stem cells in the brain regenerate myelin sheath, needed to protect nerve fibres.
MS charities said the “exciting” Nature Neuroscience work offered hope of restoring physical functions.
But they cautioned it would be some years before treatments were developed.
More about BBC News – Study offers hope of ‘repairing’ MS damage
Posted in Research, Stem cells| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
Research at the University of Colorado Boulder may lead to a drug that would address both the pain and paralysis of multiple sclerosis, or MS.
The obvious symptoms of MS are tremors and paralysis. But the majority of people with MS also suffer from chronic pain, for which there are currently no available drugs, says Linda Watkins, a distinguished professor of Neuroscience at CU. So her team set out to test chronic pain treatments and what they found exceeded their expectations.
“What was surprising was that they had such dramatic effects on arresting and reversing paralysis as well,” says Watkins.
They found a single injection of an anti-inflammatory drug into the spines of rats stopped MS-related paralysis for weeks at a time. That research in Watkins laboratory was led by Lisa Loram, a senior research associate.
More about KUNC: CU Study Hints at Potential New Multiple Sclerosis Treatment (2010-11-18)
Posted in Research| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
An Ontario man with multiple sclerosis died of complications after a controversial treatment in Costa Rica to open up his neck veins, CBC News has learned.
Mahir Mostic, 35, of St. Catharines died on Oct. 19, one day after doctors in the Central American country tried to dissolve a blood-clot complication.
“We didn’t find exactly what happened with Mahir, but I mean it was very terrible story for us,” vascular surgeon Dr. Marcial Fallas of Clinica Biblica in San Jose said Thursday.
“He was a person that was looking [for] some way to improve his life. He found that for a short period of time his life improved.”
After Mostic paid $30,000 to go to Costa Rica for treatment in late June, he was operated on three times to have a mesh stent inserted to prop open a vein in his neck.
More about CBC News – Health – Ont. man dies after MS vein opening
Posted in CCSVI| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
Several Canadians with multiple sclerosis who underwent the controversial ‘liberation treatment’ overseas have developed serious complications stemming from stents that were inserted after the operations.
More about MS patients warn of complications after ‘liberation’ – CTV News
Posted in CCSVI| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
By (author) Professor George Jelinek
| List Price: |
CDN$ 30.95 CAD |
| New From: |
CDN$ 17.41 In Stock |
| Used from: |
CDN$ 22.05 In Stock |
|
|
|
Posted in Basics, Books, Diet, Life, Research| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
The whole CCSVI issue is clouded by conflict of interest. Conflict of interest in this case is when a researcher, research group, or commentator have a vested interest in the subject under study and are therefore potentially biased. Conflict of interest can come from many sources; it is commonly financial, such as when a researcher stands to profit from the product being researched (such as when a drug company conducts a clinical trial of a new agent they have developed); but conflict of interest can also be related to career advancement, or prestige, or relationships that researchers have.
For instance with CCSVI, Zamboni has a clear conflict of interest in that his wife has MS. I understand that conflict perfectly, given that my mother died of MS. Personally, I find that such a conflict of interest can be very helpful, in that it often makes the researcher very passionate about the research, and more likely to persevere in the face of adversity. But it can cloud the judgement of the researcher; I am aware that to some extent my conflict of interest produces a bias towards research that supports things that can be actively done to improve outcome, like diet, exercise, meditation, etc, whereas I tend to be biased against research that suggests such interventions are not helpful. But I try hard to remain objective. Zamboni may well have similar bias towards finding a cure, and towards vascular techniques, and this may subtly influence his assessment of ultrasound scans, for example, when he knows that the person being scanned has MS. Those of us who use ultrasound daily know just how subjective and operator-dependent the interpretation of these scans is.
More about What are we to make of CCSVI? « Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis
Posted in CCSVI, Research| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
Nintendo Wii (pronounced ‘we’) is potentially revolutionising the way we exercise and making it a more interesting option for keeping fit and active between treatment sessions, which can involve friends and family. “As a neuro-physio with 17 years’ experience, I know the difficulties which arise when clients do not regularly practice recommended exercises,” says Colin. “But here at Physio Matters, we’ve been successfully using Nintendo Wii for over 18 months to enhance clients’ enjoyment of exercise and the benefits they can gain as a result.”
More on Does Wii-hab work? | Physio Matters
Posted in Exercise, Research, Treatments| Posted by Admin | Comments Off
