Finally! I Just spotted the release
today. "Canadians with multiple sclerosis will soon have access to a highly
touted new drug for the treatment of the relapsing-remitting form of the progressive
neurodegenerative disease, following approval of the medication by Health Canada.
In a two-year, international trial that included Canadians afflicted with MS,
the medication was found to reduce the rate of relapse by 68 per cent compared
with placebo and the risk of sustained disability progression by 42 per cent.

Use of the drug, known generically as natalizumab, also curtailed development
of brain lesions, a hallmark of multiple sclerosis. The disease is caused when
normally disease-fighting white blood cells turn on healthy tissue, attacking
the myelin sheathing that protects nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord and
the eyes"

Oh, come on!! On Thanksgiving weekend?

2006-10-06 19:15:37

You have to be kidding. I think I have the chicken pox. Again. I had it as
a child (7) but it seems like I'm getting it again! I was at my doctor yesterday
and he was not 100% on it being chicken pox, so he wanted me to stay in quarantine
at home and come back tomorrow to see if the "pox" have changed. So far they
really haven't. They aren't big blisters, just a lovely array of red spots.
And I don't feel sick in any way... no fever, no flu symptoms, no pain. Hmph.
I left a message for my MS nurse but didn't hear back from her. Once should
always blame weird things on MS right? Of course I had to google around to see
what the spots could be. Shingles, second round of chicken pox is apparantly
possible (I thought you could only get it once!), MS attack?, allergy, or perhaps
it's just from stress. I was under an enormous amount of stress about a month
ago and I kept wondering when it would come back in some way to give me one
last kick. So, we'll see what tomorrow's visit brings. I don't want to miss
out on all the Turkey dinners I need to go to!

It's not Chicken Pox!

2006-10-09 13:51:59

Phew... it's not the chicken pox. Essentially my doctor feels that my immune
system is low right now and I have an infection at the folicle and that's whats
ailing me. Can stress lower my immune system... oh ya. I'm sure it is. So, not
all that unexpected I suppose.. I'm just hoping that a true MS attack isn't
around the corner. Time will tell :) The good thing is I've had 2 turkey dinners
now! Yippee! And I didn't even have to cook them! Mmm... I love yams. Happy
Thanksgiving everyone!

Vitamin B3 might help?

2006-10-20 21:10:12

Okay, so Vitamin
B3 seems to be helping those little white mice some... I wonder if they'll
start doing some human trials now. I'm game! "Tests revealed that mice with
an MS-like disease experienced less weakness and paralysis if they received
regular injections of nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3. Lead researcher Shinjiro
Kaneko at Children's Hospital Boston, in Massachusetts, believes the chemical
protects against progressive nerve damage, which can cause fatigue, pain and
behavioural changes. He hopes the study, which appears in the Journal of Neuroscience,
will initiate a clinical trial."

The race for an oral mediation continues, this time Cladribine

2006-10-20 21:17:30

I'm loving seening all these news releasing of all sorts of companies hoping
to find the next oral option in MS drugs. I wonder which one will make it to
FDA approval first? Here's a bit about Cladribine: "Cladribine
is a purine nucleoside analogue that interferes with the behavior and the proliferation
of certain white blood cells, particularly lymphocytes, which are involved in
the pathological process of multiple sclerosis. Through its differentiated mechanism
of action, oral cladribine may offer an alternative option to patients with
multiple sclerosis." And it looks
like they're hoping to get a two year trial under way by the end of this
year. "currently being evaluated in a multi-center, multi-national Phase III
study, CLARITY (CLAdRIbine Tablets Treating MS OrallY) . It is a two-year, double-blind,
placebo-controlled study involving over 1,200 patients. Patient enrollment into
this pivotal trial is planned to be completed by the end of 2006. "We are very
pleased that oral cladribine has been designated a Fast Track product," said
Ernesto Bertarelli, CEO of Serono. "As a leader in multiple sclerosis, we are
committed to providing new treatment options that can further improve the quality
of the lives of people with this serious disease and our objective is to bring
to them the first oral disease modifying treatment."

Tovaxin bloggers

2006-10-20 21:31:10

I meant to do this before, but I've received word from a couple new bloggers
that are eithr just waiting to get on Tovaxin or have just been accepted. I
don't know about any of you, but I'm keen to watch this product. A vaccine to
prevent MS. That seems like a whole lot better a potential scenario over just
producing drugs that treat symptoms. My two cents anyhow. So, check out Chris
S. and.. and... uh oh. What the heck happened to you? I know theres another
blogger out there that just started the Tovaxin process and now I can't find
you in gmail like I thought I would! Post a comment with your blog!! Sorry!
And outside of Tovaxin along the lines of bloggers... Okay, not a blogger, but
Stephen has an informative
site you might want to check out. And The
MS Express (Carlo Magno and his three-legged assistance dog, Katie) is currently
traveling from Seattle to New York in order to raise one million dollars for
Multiple Sclerosis. Anyone else I should know about?

They found an MS gene! DR2b

2006-10-20 21:38:26

Yippee! It seems to be a little more complex than what other health related genes usually are. The basic story as I read it: there's a good gene and a bad gene that co-exist together. When they work nicely together, the body stays okay. When one gene doesn't work as it should, namely the good gene, the bad gene takes over and starts the MS path. Follow? "One of the genes thought to be responsible for MS is called DR2b.

Scientists have learned that it is the "evil twin" of a pair of DR2 genes.
While DR2b works to increase the rogue immune response that causes symptoms
of MS, its partner gene DR2a tries to prevent the damage. Thanks to DR2a, MS
symptoms, which can range from numbness to paralysis, are dampened. Researchers
believe this could be why some patients are worse affected by the disease than
others. Prof Lars Fugger, of the Medical Research Council's human immunology
unit at Oxford University, led the work on the study." So, now what? Can someone
please work on beefing up DR2a's abilty to stay on top of things? Jeesh. A personal
trainer maybe? Whatever is needed! :)

Going away

2006-10-20 21:43:45

Tomorrow I leave to go on a week long retreat. It's a mind, body and spirit
retreat and I'm very excited about going. I have so much to do though! And I
had a darn head cold. It wiped me off my feet for the whole day today. Ugh.
So, anyways, have a good week all. :)

Would you get a Segway?

2006-10-21 08:30:06

I've always wanted to try a Segway out, but now I think about my own balance (or lack of) and wonder if it's a possibility? Anyways, London, Ontario is now allowing the Segways on sidewalks! Thats better than being close to cars ont he side of a road! I think thats why they aren't as popular as they should be... not quite a bike, but now quite a wheelchair on a sidewalk. So, if you have MS, would you get one or do you think balance issues would negate the possibilty? Better yet, has anyone out there tried one for real?