What does 2019 hold for the various Barts-MS campaigns? We are continuing to make the case for our #ThinkHand campaign with several outputs in 2018, which are being used to support our work in this area. I am very proud that ORATORIO-HAND, a phase-3b study of ocrelizumab in PPMS, which will include patients with an EDSS of up to 8.0 and will start recruiting in the first quarter of 2019...
#ThinkHand – What happened to #ChariotMS ?
Yes, what happened you might ask, and all I can say is: A great deal. The UK National Institute of Health Research’s EME board has elevated #ChariotMS from the brawling crowd (stage 1) to the boxing ring (stage 2), and the reason they gave was this: “The Board note that this is an important research question.” No further patting on the back though, since the whole team is...
Guest post: FES and the #ThinkHand campaign
Back in the day I had RRMS, now I have advanced MS. A common problem of this disease is dropped foot, the inability to lift the foot when walking, it get progressively worse and worse. It is usually the front of the foot or the toe of the shoe that catches on the ground. I stopped walking the dog in 2004 when walking several miles in woodland was too tiring but in about 2005 dropped foot became a...
If we #Thinkhand we would have another treatment for Progressive MS.
Another DMT for progressive MS bites the dust! Yet another poorly designed progressive trial. If only it had been designed better it would have transformed the management of SPMS. Have we learnt from our mistakes? Kapoor R, Ho PR, Campbell N, Chang I, Deykin A, Forrestal F, Lucas N, Yu B, Arnold DL, Freedman MS, Goldman MD, Hartung HP, Havrdová EK, Jeffery D, Miller A, Sellebjerg F, Cadavid...
#Thinkhand – Natalizumab preserves upper limb function in advanced disease
Most people with MS will have discrete episodes of disability – relapses – from which they get better. Unfortunately over time, many people gradually accumulate disability and stop having clear relapses. This shift is often labelled as a shift from ‘relapsing’ to ‘progressive’ disease, and once in the second phase people are often given the label...
Guest post: #ThinkHand Campaign for Advanced Multiple Sclerosis
I attended the launch of the #ThinkHand campaign for advanced MS by Barts MS Health at the Bankside Gallery in Southwark on Thursday 22 February. My MS I can still walk, but it is a very slow walk and I must use a rollator or walker. I have lost the ability to walk independently. If you fall into this category of disability then there is no drug available from the NHS to slow down...
#ThinkHand Awareness Speech
My speech from our #ThinkHand Awareness event on Thursday night.
MS Three Billboards
#ThinkHand: Today is MS Hand Awareness Day
We are hosting our #ThinkHand Awareness event tonight. The good news is that Shift.ms will be there to help promote the campaign. The following are some YouTube clips, from their reporters, explaining the campaign and how you can help. Thank you Shift.ms for helping and spreading hope for the million-plus people who have MS and are using a wheelchair. What is the...
#ChariotMS & #ThinkHand: therapeutic lag explains why we don’t have treatments for progressive MS
We need to do longer studies in progressive MS #ChariotMS #ThinkHand Summary: This post explains therapeutic lag and why people with more advanced MS don’t see an immediate response to DMTs. I have been invited to give a grand round talk at Imperial College this morning. I have chosen the topic: “Is progressive MS (more advanced MS) modifiable?”. This is an extension of...
#ChariotMS & #ThinkHand: is it ever too late to treat MS?
It is never too early, nor too late, to treat MS. #Never2EarlyNor2Late #ChariotMS #ThinkHand Summary: This post makes a case for a new treatment philosophy at Barts-MS based on the principle that “It’s never too early, nor too late, to treat MS”. The post also describes the influence of the London Underground, or tube, on our thinking about MS. This post is longer than usual and no summary can do...