Last night the cardboard 9 Hole Peg Test won “Innovation of the year” at the Barts Health Innovation Awards! “This award is for an innovative idea that can be developed into a product (e.g. app, device, diagnostic test).” We’re obviously not working in this area to win awards, but a little recognition now and again is no bad thing. The judges agreed that this is innovative as it is not only...
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Interferons verses Glatiramer Acetate
La Mantia L, Di Pietrantonj C, Rovaris M, Rigon G, Frau S, Berardo F, Gandini A, Longobardi A, Weinstock-Guttman B, Vaona A.Interferons-beta versus glatiramer acetate for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Nov 24;11:CD009333. [Epub ahead of print] BACKGROUND: Interferons-beta (IFNs-beta) and glatiramer acetate (GA) were the first two disease-modifying...
Is there life still left in 1st line injectables? An assessment of cognition
Neurol Sci. 2016 Nov 24. [Epub ahead of print] Cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with first-line disease-modifying therapy: a multi-center, controlled study using the BICAMS battery. Cinar BP, Kösehasanoğulları G, Yigit P, Ozakbas S. Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) can impair cognitive functions even in the early stages. The Brief International Cognitive...
NEDA
Rotstein DL, Healy BC, Malik MT, Chitnis T, Weiner HL. Evaluation of no evidence of disease activity in a 7-year longitudinal multiple sclerosis cohort. JAMA Neurol. 2015 Feb;72(2):152-8 IMPORTANCE: With multiple and increasingly effective therapies for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), disease-free status or no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) has become a...
Sodium Channel blockers as a target for progressive MS
Schattling B, Fazeli W, Engeland B, Liu Y, Lerche H, Isbrandt D, Friese MA.Activity of NaV1.2 promotes neurodegeneration in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. JCI Insight. 2016 Nov 17;1(19):e89810. Counteracting the progressive neurological disability caused by neuronal and axonal loss is the major unmet clinical need in multiple sclerosis therapy. However, the mechanisms underlying...
Selecting walking speed
Fampridine treatment and walking distance in multiple sclerosis: A randomised controlled trial.Pickering H, Murray J, Lin CS, Cormack C, Martin A, Kiernan MC, Krishnan AV.Clin Neurophysiol. 2016 Nov 2;128(1):93-99. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.10.088. [Epub ahead of print] ObjectiveTo explore the benefits of modified-release fampridine on walking distance in MS.MethodsThis was a randomised double...
The story of the CSF
PLoS One. 2016 Nov 17;11(11):e0166277. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166277. eCollection 2016. Disease Type- and Status-Specific Alteration of CSF Metabolome Coordinated with Clinical Parameters in Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases of CNS. Park SJ, Jeong IH, Kong BS, Lee JE, Kim KH, Lee DY, Kim HJ. Abstract Central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory demyelinating diseases (IDDs) are a group of...
Your own stem cells may not be the simple answer to remyleination
Nicaise AM, Banda E, Guzzo RM, Russomanno K, Castro-Borrero W, Willis CM, Johnson KM, Lo AC, Crocker SJ.iPS-derived neural progenitor cells from PPMS patients reveal defect in myelin injury response. Exp Neurol. 2016. pii: S0014-4886(16)30384-3. Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) currently lacking any effective...
Aging B cells in MS
Claes N, Fraussen J, Vanheusden M, Hellings N, Stinissen P, Van Wijmeersch B, Hupperts R, Somers V.Age-Associated B Cells with Proinflammatory Characteristics Are Expanded in a Proportion of Multiple Sclerosis Patients. J Immunol. 2016 Nov 11. pii: 1502448. [Epub ahead of print] Immune aging occurs in the elderly and in autoimmune diseases. Recently, IgD–CD27– (double...