Hello there! Our week has been busy as usual, but we are happy to be able to bring you some good medical news. From more insight into the causes of MS (processed foods and a very sneaky mutated gene), to ever growing research into advanced treatments and possibly even a cure, here is your week in (awesome) MS news.
√ Stem Cell MS Patients Lead Normal Life Thanks To aHSCT Procedure: An aggressive chemotherapy, aHSCT, was conducted in a clinical trial of 24 multiple sclerosis patients. One of the patients from the trial, Jennifer Molson, is now able to walk and live independently after having lived in assisted care prior to her treatment. MyCounterpane will be hosting a webcast about stem cell treatments and featuring a MCP user who also got out of a wheelchair on June 30th at 11AM. We will send more details in our next newsletter.
√ Scientists Discover Gene Responsible for Multiple Sclerosis: Scientists have discovered that a single mutated gene, NR1H3, can greatly increase the chance of developing primary progressive multiple sclerosis, which is the most severe form of the disease.
√ PET Detects Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis: Adam J. Rosenberg, Ph.D. and his colleagues are using preclinical positron emission tomography (PET) to image Multiple Sclerosis and other inflammatory diseases. The hope is to discover the triggers for MS while investigating new therapies for the disease.
√ Processed Foods and Additives May Lead To MS and Other Autoimmune Diseases: Research shows that additives commonly used in processed foods can cause damage to a vital process which works to prevent multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.
√ Thorough and Informative: Vox’s Story on Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis: A review of an article discussing a trial conducted using chemotherapy and stem cell transplants on patients with multiple sclerosis. All factors in the article reported were proven satisfactory, save for the review of disease-mongering.
√ Rare Genetic Mutation May Explain Some Forms of Multiple Sclerosis: For the first time, scientists have isolated a single genetic mutation as a strong causal factor in the development of the severe form of multiple sclerosis.
√ Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Targeting Immune Cells Begins Phase 1 Trial: A trial by a new clinical stage organization has begun Phase 1 of a drug called ARN-6039. It is hoped that ARN-6039 will move into Phase 2 by the end of the year, when the therapy will then be tested in MS patients.
√ #CMSC16 – Metabolism in MS and the Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Dr. David Sheikh-Hamad, professor of medicine-nephrology at Baylor college of medicine, believes the mitochondria plays a role in multiple sclerosis, and that mitochondrial dysfunction is present in patients with MS. He and his team are working on a protein that can potentially be a benefit to those with MS. Recently, MyCounterpane interviewed another top researcher studying the role of mitochondria in MS and that conversation can be found here.
