MS News & Articles

More research needed before experimental treatment for MS should be considered the standard of care

Ethical responsibility of medical community to inform patients about the experimental nature of procedure

A new and increasingly popular invasive treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) must have proven results before it can be considered as a standard of care, according to LifeBridge Health neurologist Michael A Williams MD, the medical director of The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute, and lead author of an editorial in the December edition of the Archives of Neurology. In the editorial, which he co-wrote with Arun Venkatesan MD PhD, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Williams also stated that it is the ethical responsibility of the medical community to inform patients about the experimental nature of this procedure.

Rare variants in the CYP27B1 gene associated with multiple sclerosis

Researchers say a variant gene which reduces vitamin D levels could be directly linked to MS.

A rare genetic variant which causes reduced levels of vitamin D appears to be directly linked to multiple sclerosis, says an Oxford University study.

Advanced MRI technology suggests axonal repair in MS patients treated with Copaxone

Researchers utilizing an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to characterize and chart the evolution of MS lesions found that relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients treated with COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) experienced significantly increased magnetization transfer ratio (MTR). Magnetization transfer ratio is a nonconventional MRI technique used to investigate abnormalities in brain structures, and increased values indicate potential remyelination and axonal tissue repair.

Findings could change way MS is diagnosed, treated

Multiple sclerosis may begin in the outer layer of the brain and work its way into the deep interior, according to a new study that upends long-held beliefs about the nervous system disease.

The new findings, which could spur changes in the way MS is diagnosed and treated, appear to solidify a theory that has emerged in recent years. This new premise suggests that gray matter, the outer covering of the brain called the cortex, and the fluid that surrounds and cushions it, is where MS originates, not in the bulky white matter that composes most of the brain's core.

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