Yoga is an exercise that is excellent for people who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis. This form of exercise helps the sufferer to relax which is something that is very important for Multiple Sclerosis. It also allows the body to lengthen and strengthen the muscles. This will help the body become more pliable and strong. These two things are very important for someone suffering the effects of MS.

Swimming is also another strong exercise that helps MS sufferers. This way of training allows the body to have buoyancy and this is helpful because the body is under less stress when working out. This, in effect, allows the body to experience less join inflammation when working out. Swimming also requires that the exerciser move through a full range of movements, which is very helpful for the MS sufferer.

Light strength training is also beneficial for a person with MS. This workout does not have to be with heavy weights as muscular endurance is a key factor in fitness. Strength training also produces endorphins like any other exercise, which means that it is stress relieving in nature. Therefore, not only will strength training bring the ability to do more work, it will also help bring stress relief to the person with MS.

Multiple Sclerosis pain and suffering and be managed. Exercising is a big part of this equation, and the tips above can help a person with MS workout effectively. When someone has MS, it is important not to stop exercising. Exercise should be a part of a MS sufferer’s life because of the benefits it provides. People with MS should consult their doctors and start their exercise programs today.

Nikolaos A. Patsopoulos, M.D. and Ph.D., along with colleagues, had been investigating MS susceptibility. To find the consequences of novel susceptibility loci, a one-stage meta-analysis was done. There were seven genome-wide associated studies that involved 2,529,395 unique nucleotide polymorphisms. These morphisms were obtained from 5,545 patients who had MS and 12,153 control patients. 228 individuals were used for quantitative trait analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These individuals had demyelinating disease. From this experiment, the researchers were able to identify three new susceptibility alleles.

This discovery is said to add to the list of loci that are linked with MS. Before now, this list was made up of only past genome scans. The new alleles also help researchers to confirm their theory that increasing sample size will lead to new discoveries in MS susceptibility loci.

http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/pb/25809

Professor Robin Franklin, director of the MS Society’s Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair at the university, said: “What we have shown in our study, carried out in collaboration with Dr Amy Wagers and colleagues at Harvard University, is that the age-associated decline in remyelination is reversible. We found that remyelination in old adult mice can be made to work as efficiently as it does in young adult mice.

“For individuals with MS, this means that in theory regenerative therapies will work throughout the duration of the disease. Specifically, it means that remyelination therapies do not need to be based on stem cell transplantation since the stem cells already present in the brain and spinal cord can be made to regenerate myelin – regardless of the patient’s age.”

Source:http://www.cambridgefirst.co.uk/news/hope_for_ms_sufferers_from_cambridge_research_1_1170356

This is a fascinating find, as it gives hope to MS patients that bringing back nerve feeling and reversing damage is possible, and thus some of the side effects of MS can be alleviated. Though still in the clinical study and trial phase, this research holds promise for advancements in the field of MS.

In humans there’s a condition that inhibits the transfer of neurons or signals leading to distressing disabilities. They usually lead to active sessions of MS that last for almost 2 hours which can have damaging consequences. Scientists have now discovered a new better model; mice that develop MS condition that can be used to test for potential cures.

Research into potential cures has always been hindered by lack of a model for the disease. In production of a better model, scientist have discovered that when mice with type 1 diabetes were injected with a form of protein, they suffered periods of regressive disability associated with brain abrasion in humans. They have been able to monitor this occurrence using a magnetic resonance imaging device.

Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered a better model – mice with type 1 diabetes that actually develop MS and can thus be used to test the mechanisms and potential treatments. The researchers hope this breakthrough could lead eventually to the development of better treatments and maybe one day a cure. The research was recently published in Experimental Neurology.

In people, the “shorting” of electrical signals inhibits their transfer between neurons, often leading to devastating disabilities such as blindness and paralysis. Active periods of MS last for anywhere between a few minutes to weeks. These attacks are caused by lesions in the brain that develop, partly recover and then recur. The more attacks there are, the greater the risk of permanent disability.

Israeli scientists are among the prime developers of medications such as Copaxone that shorten attacks and reduce their intensity. But research into a potential cure has often been stymied by the lack of a genuine animal model for the human disease. MS does not present in this model as it does in human sufferers – most mouse models experience a single inflammatory peak that leaves them with permanent symptoms such muscle paralysis. But the damage can be detected in the spinal cord, not in the brain.

Dr. Dan Frenkel of TAU’s neurobiology department, working with Prof. Yaniv Assaf and doctoral student Hilit Levy, is likely to boost research by producing a better model. The team discovered that when mice with type 1 diabetes are injected with myelin protein, they suffer periods of relapsing and remitting disability associated with brain lesions in man. And for the first time, they’ve been able to monitor this brain lesion process using magnetic resonance imaging.

“We discovered that when we gave them the same myelin protein injection, a mouse model that develops type 1 diabetes will instead show peaks of inflammatory responses similar to those of chronic progressive MS, which relapses and remits,” Frenkel says. The mice also suffer from brain lesions in addition to spinal cord damage, making them a more viable model for studying and developing treatment for MS in humans.

Using a special MRI machine for imaging small animals, the researchers followed each mouse model over the course of several months, noting the activity of the brain and the development of lesions corresponding to peaks of inflammation. The lesions and the inflammation in the brain can be followed in the same way within these animals as in a human with MS, says Frenkel. “Now, we can follow the different stages that occur after the autoimmune response is already triggered and look for different targets that will not only help to enhance recovery, but prevent further damage as well.”

Source: http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=252435

With this new discovery, researchers have been able to observe these brain abrasions in the mouse model and how the brain heals after such attacks, developing treatment options that turn temporary recovery into a permanent one.

Dr Meier continued: “We have to be careful and have to study more MS brains but this is potentially very exciting research. Now we understand how EBV gets smuggled into the brain by cells of the immune system and that it is found at the crime scene, right where the attack on our nervous system occurs. Now we know this, we may have a number of new ways of treating or even preventing the disease.”

One possibility is the widely-used cancer treatment Rituximab; a drug which is known to kill the cells of the immune system in which the virus hides. It is now being trialed as a treatment for MS.

Another possible approach, using anti-viral treatment, will be tested in clinical trials currently in preparation by Professor Gavin Giovannoni and colleagues, also at Queen Mary.

“If we can pinpoint EBV as a trigger, it’s possible that we could alter the course of MS or potentially even prevent the condition by treating the virus,” Dr Meier added.

“MS so often strikes young women and its unpredictable nature makes it an incredibly difficult disease to live with. We desperately need better ways to tackle the condition.”

Interestingly, the research also hinted that infection with EBV and its action on the immune system could also be playing a role in other brain diseases such as cancer and stroke.

Research was based on studying the brains of victims of MS after death. Scientists were able to pinpoint the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus, even when it was not active but was hidden or dormant in immune cells. Even when not active, the virus caused those cells to send out a chemical message that prompted the immune system into action, attacking nerves in the brain. Results suggest treatment for the virus as a solution.

New research suggests that MS has more in common with coronary heart disease. The research still did not find out the exact cause of the disease, but the research links it to faulty lipid metabolism. Lipid metabolism occurs differently in women and men. Faulty lipid metabolism leads to the hardening of arteries in men. It is more likely to lead to the faulty break down.

The new research, published in the Review of Quarterly Biology, shows that the cause is the body to produce faulty fats in the nucleus of cells. The faulty lipids are distributed throughout the body. The faulty fats then start to gather on the affected tissue.

The new research opens the way for new treatment, research and prevention methods. Dr. Angelique of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York contributed to the study published at the end of 2011.

The trial participants were separated into three groups: a treatment group receiving 18 Hz, (high-frequency) left pre-frontal stimulation, a control group with false-stimulation, and a treatment group receiving low frequency stimulation of 5 Hz to the motor cortex. Each participant received treatment three times a week for six weeks; the effects of their treatments were evaluated over this time period.

The effects the treatments had on participant’s fatigue levels were studied using standard rating scales for fatigue, including the FSS (Fatigue Severity Scale), MFIS (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale and the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale). Depressions level effects were studied with the Hamilton Rating Scale, BDI (Beck Depression Inventory) and PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Scale).

Studies of the fatigue rating scales showed great improvement in Fatigue Severity scores in the group receiving motor cortex stimulation and slight improvement found in the group receiving left pre-frontal stimulation. Both groups showed non-important improvement on the fatigue rating scales.

Depression showed a great improvement on the Beck Depression Inventory and Positive and Negative Affect Scale in the motor cortex group while other groups’ scores did not greatly change. The main investigator stated that these results show that Brainways’ device providing Deep TMS therapy works well in treating MS patients and is safe to use.

Three years ago, Kristie Salerno Kent, a singer-songwriter, was standing in a security line at the airport on her way home from a gig when her legs went numb. “From the waist down, it felt as though I was trying to walk through a bowl of oatmeal,” said the 38-year-old musician, who has multiple sclerosis.

She inched her way to a security officer, who called for a wheelchair and helped remove her shoes and belt to get her through security. Frightened and embarrassed, she was taken to her gate in a wheelchair.

Three months later, she experienced another flare-up. While giving a live television interview about a short film she had made on living with M.S., she suddenly lost her ability to speak. “It was as if my mouth was packed with marbles,” she said. “I kept trying to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ to the reporter, but nothing came out that made sense.”

The medication she was taking to prevent these attacks was losing its effect, so her doctor suggested she switch to Tysabri, one of the newer, more potent “disease-modifying drugs,” which reduce the severity and frequency of relapses. She also began taking Ampyra, which early last year became the first drug approved to treat any M.S. symptom. She hasn’t had a flare-up since.

After decades of basic research on M.S., the last five years have brought a rapid rollout of new and sophisticated drugs that are changing how this disease is managed and offering patients new hope.

“We have a disease that’s gone from having no treatments 20 years ago to having multiple treatment options,” said Dr. Timothy Coetzee, the chief research officer at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “There is a growing recognition that M.S. is becoming a manageable disease.”

Today many doctors prefer to begin treatment of MS using first generation interferon suppression drugs as the risks are lower but the success rate of preventing relapse are also lower. New research has begun to show that if early treatment is aggressive using the newer drugs than MS may be prevented from progressing at all. There are increasingly more options available as more drugs are approved. Multiple Sclerosis is not longer about deterioration as much as it is about finding the treatment for management.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/health/new-drugs-raise-hope-for-patients-with-ms.html

Although alemtuzumab is still in its clinical testing phase, doctors are hopeful about its potential for combating MS on a global scale. It works by slowing down the rate at which patients lose control of their motor functions. In trials it has been shown to work 49% more effectively than Rebif. It works by reducing the amount of damage MS causes to the optic nerves and central nervous system. It cannot be called a cure for multiple sclerosis, but some doctors are so optimistic about the drug’s success rate as to speculate that many patients who take alemtuzumab will never need to use canes or wheelchairs. Alemtuzumab will be called Lemtrada commercially.

For the 400,000 Americans currently living with MS, this is very good news. MS first presents with blurry vision, tremors, and exhaustion. Lemtrada will be administered intravenously over the course of two years, after which additional doses may not be necessary. Some possible harmful side effects are thyroid problems, low blood platelets and bulging eyes. Jennifer Garner notes that she was unable to work for a few weeks after receiving her treatment, but found the long-term results to be well worth some temporary discomfort.

MS is an autoimmune disease that greatly affects the central nervous system. The two major kinds of MS are relapse MS and progressive MS. Relapse MS is when the symptoms disappear temporary during periods of remission. Progressive MS sufferers do not have any such periods and continue to suffer without relief.

The Belgium team examined 1,431 subjects with both relapse and progressive forms of MS and compared their symptoms to habits of consumption. 80 percent of the participants drank up to seven glasses of wine per week. The rest were observed for different consumptions that involved eating fish, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

Those who drank wine, were found to have a decrease in symptoms and enjoyed a “protective effect”. The same held true for those who drank coffee or ate fish regularly. Cigarette smoking on the other hand, had no alleviating effects.

Marie D’Hooghe, a neurologist at Belgium’s National Center for Multiple Sclerosis told Wine Spectator, “Because we have no longitudinal data on changes of consumption over time, these associations could indicate either causality or reverse causality”.

She added, “In the latter case, this could mean that persons who have less progression of disability feel more comfortable to drink alcohol, including wine”.

The study offered one possible cause, resveratrol, a compound found in red wine and known to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects. The study text states, “In experimental models, [resveratrol] has been shown to protect against various neurological disorders.” However, the author adds that MS is a complicated ailment and sufferers should not drink wine based purely on this research.