Articles Posted in Multiple Sclerosis

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This March, multiple sclerosis patient advocacy organisations in Georgia and around the country will mark National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week between March 13 through 19. The commemoration is designed to bring greater awareness to the unique challenges that persons with multiple sclerosis face every day.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it can help to find people in your community who can help you access the information you need as you move forward with life with multiple sclerosis.  The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has chapters around the country, including in Georgia. The Georgia chapter, which has its main office in Atlanta, has planned several events to mark National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week.

A number of events are being planned throughout Georgia.  MS walks and other events will bring awareness about this condition and raise funds for multiple sclerosis advocacy initiatives.  If you are interested in raising additional funds for research, you can also take an MS leadership class in March. The Georgia chapter also connects individuals living with multiple sclerosis and their families with services that can help them on this journey. These services include references for professionals in this field, peer counselling, social programs, networking, recreational services and other types of services.

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Filing a Social Security disability benefits claim for multiple sclerosis can be challenging. One major reason for benefits claims being denied is because symptoms of MS are so often intermittent, or appear and disappear suddenly.

These symptoms are called paroxysmal symptoms, and many patients who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis suffer from these kinds of irregular symptoms which come on suddenly without any warning and last for very little time. Paroxysmal symptoms may last for a few minutes or even a few seconds. There may be several dozen such episodes of symptoms throughout the day, and these could be either painful or just irritating, preventing you from doing your normal work easily.

Some of the common symptoms of multiple sclerosis like tingling or numbness in the extremities can occur and disappear throughout the day, but still cause discomfort or pain. Other paroxysmal symptoms of multiple sclerosis include weakness in the eye muscles, slurred speech, changes in the volume of your voice, changes in your speech rhythm, freezing up of facial muscles, and freezing up of the muscles that are responsible for swallowing and general fatigue.

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Intensive medical research efforts that have gone into developing vaccines for Covid-19 could possibly have paved the way for a vaccine for an unrelated condition — multiple sclerosis.

The flurry of medical science research that has occurred on a vast and unprecedented scale during the Covid-19 pandemic has opened up avenues for the development of medications and vaccines for other diseases too. According to the result of one study that was published recently in the journal Science, one of those conditions could possibly be a vaccine for multiple sclerosis.

The research for this new vaccine has so far only been confined to mice, but the researchers believe that the results are promising enough for human trials soon.

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Women who use a commonly-prescribed multiple sclerosis drug for treatment of their symptoms may find complications arising when they choose to stop the drug before conceiving, or continue to take the drug during their pregnancy.

A team of Italian researchers recently found a number of reproductive hazards involving Natalizumab , a drug that is commonly used to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis. This is an extremely potent drug, and according to the Italian researchers, there are several reproductive challenges facing women who try to get pregnant while on the medication.

Women who take the drug to manage their symptoms have a much higher chance of suffering a relapse of their symptoms during their pregnancy, if they cease taking Natalizumab before they conceive. However, if the woman continues to take it even after conceiving, then there’s a serious risk to the health of the fetus. The researchers found that continuing to take the drug after conception, was associated with a much higher risk of a miscarriage. Even in those cases in which the pregnancy was carried to full term, the drug was associated with a much higher risk of a lower birth weight, or a shorter length.

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Young athletes who suffer frequent concussions have a higher risk of suffering multiple sclerosis later in life.

These findings were part of a study recently published in the journal Annals of Neurology.  Researchers in Sweden analyzed medical histories of Swedes who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis since 1964. When the same data was compared with another control group, the researchers found that the risk of development of multiple sclerosis later in life was higher in people who had suffered multiple head injuries during their youth.  Persons who had suffered at least one concussion were 22% more likely to suffer symptoms of multiple sclerosis later in life, compared to those who had not suffered such injuries. In the case of multiple concussions, the likelihood increased by a staggering 150%.

The study also revealed that concussions do not seem to be so damaging when they occur during childhood. Adolescent brains seem to be much less resilient, making them more vulnerable to the long-term effects of consistent concussions.

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The upcoming trials of an inexpensive drug that is already used to lower high cholesterol levels will be watched closely by doctors as well as patients who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

In 2014, trials found that MS patients who were administered Simvastatin showed significant reductions in brain atrophy levels, compared to those who were not given the drug. That was a smaller trial with just 140 participants, but a new larger trial that is due to begin soon will focus on more than 1,100 people, and will try to confirm the results of the earlier study.

The new study will specifically look at whether the administration of Simvastatin helps reduce the progression of MS in patients. Researchers are optimistic that the drug holds plenty of potential for millions of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers in the United Kingdom – where the trial will be conducted – and around the world.

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Scientists have welcome news for the more than 2.3 million people across the globe who live with multiple sclerosis. According to researchers, a new breakthrough drug can help reduce symptoms, and delay progression of this painful and debilitating disease, even in people who do not respond to any other treatments.

The new drug is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as early as March. The drug called OCREVUS has been found to significantly delay the progression of symptoms of the disease, and limit the extent of physical disability in people who suffer from primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The drug reduces the frequency of attacks in these people.

MS can be a difficult condition to treat, because it affects different people in different ways. The severity of symptoms may differ between two different people, and the rate of progression may also vary. Many people with multiple sclerosis respond to some of the treatment drugs that are available on the market. These drugs are designed to limit symptoms, limit the progression of the disease, and reduce the number of attacks.

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Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune inflammatory condition, which can affect the brain, spine, and nervous system. There are a wide range of symptoms that are associated with MS, and the condition itself has several degrees of severity. Therefore, qualifying for social security disability benefits for MS can be challenging.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) typically requires that a claimant must have suffered from the condition for a period of 12 months, or the condition is expected to last for at least 12 months before approving benefit payments. That, however, can be challenging in the case of Multiple Sclerosis because the symptoms tend to recur at inconsistent intervals.

For example, in the early stages of the condition, a person may suffer from a variety of symptoms, including numbness or changes in sensation in the hands and legs, swallowing problems, tremors, muscle fatigue, weakness, bowel and bladder management problems, difficulties in concentration, memory loss, blurred vision, sudden reflexes and muscular spasms. A person is said to be in “remission” during times when they are not experiencing symptoms.

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Patients who suffer from the debilitating condition multiple sclerosis (MS) may have new hope for treatment. Researchers have announced findings from a small clinical trial, which indicated significant benefits from the use of a patient’s own stem cells.

As part of the trial, patients were given a transplant of hematopoietic stem cells from their own bodies. According to researchers, patients experienced disease remission after the transplant. These particular types of stem cells are involved in the formation of blood, and are sourced from bone marrow. As part of the trial, patients were also given high-dose immunosuppressive medications.

The study’s findings were published recently in JAMA Neurology, and focused on an evaluation of 24 patients who suffered from MS. They suffered from a type of multiple sclerosis called active relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, in which the patients have certain phases in which the condition is very active, followed by certain phases in which they do not experience any symptoms at all.

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Researchers working on a treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have reported progress. According to the teams from New York’s Rockefeller University and the University of California-Riverside, they have both used Indazole Chloride to successfully reverse the symptoms of MS. The studies were conducted in mice, and they found that the drug triggered regeneration of the protective coating of the nerve, or myelin sheath, that is typically destroyed when MS sets in.

Multiple Sclerosis is a condition in which a person may suffer from a steady and progressive breakdown of the nervous system, including the senses of hearing and vision, and motor control. As the disease progresses, the person may suffer from problems walking, difficulty with coordination, numb sensations in the arms or legs, muscular weakness, vision problems, hearing loss, loss of balance, and speech problems. Often times, a person with MS may suffer from complete and permanent paralysis.

MS is a disease that affects the body’s immune system and it’s estimated that, in the United States alone. more than 40,000 people suffer this debilitating disease.

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