This report
just out... "According to Dr. Helen Tremlett, assistant professor at the
University of British Columbia and lead researcher on the study, the results
could mean that people with MS need to take extra care when using medications
that might affect their liver and be alert to any possible symptoms of liver
disease. 'I would recommend people with MS have their liver tested as a routine
part of their care when being treated with drugs known to affect the liver,'Dr.
Tremlett says. “In addition, people need to inform their doctor immediately
if there is any presentation of liver disease symptoms such as jaundice (yellow
skin or yellowing of the whites of the eye), itchy skin and unexpected fatigue.'

Over a two-year period, there was an over three-fold increased risk of a person
with MS having an elevated liver test result compared to expectations. An elevated
test result indicates that liver enzymes have leaked out of their cells. This
leakage into the blood stream may be an indicator of liver cell damage."

Many things learned

2006-11-06 11:21:47

While I was on my 6 day retreat I thought a lot about my MS (among many other
things that I won't go into here). But the big thing I really, really, really
realized it that I AM letting my MS dictate how I live my daily life. I easily
use it to NOT do things that could have potentially good outcomes for me. I'll
give you an example... One of the things I know feeds my soul is being in nature.
I used to hike all the time and go for walks. Slowly over time I stopped going
out because I would lose balance or my legs would go numb. At the retreat, we
had to walk for 30 minutes twice a day. I was worried about this. I've always
been told not to do things that activate symptoms. On the first walk I was feeling
okay. The pace wasen't fast and furious and I didn't have tingling. On the second
walk I felt a little numbness at the end and was off balance but no more than
if I was at work walking around the hallways. And as the next 5 days went on
I noticed that I was sleeping better and my muscles weren't seizing up quite
as much as they usually do and tingling or not, it really didn't affect me negatively.
So, it really occured to me that I was (out of default) not even challenging
my body to work the way it should be. I was bailing out before even giving it
a try with the excuse of my MS. So, no longer am I going to use my MS as the
excuse prior to even giving it a try. I know my body/MS will truly let me know
when it's not right.

Where is all the time going?

2006-11-15 14:38:17

Is it really about 5 weeks until Christmas?! Yikes! I'm very behind in my
knitted Christmas gifts now! Ha! The good news of this week is from my yearly
MS clinic appointment. Things are looking pretty good with my MS these days.
I still get slightly numb legs when I go for a walk and do a little too much,
but otherwise all my other symptoms are resolved. She told me not to let that
numbness stop me if it's not totally compromising my ability to keep walking.
There is no harm in the numbness, its just that my messages aren't travelling
quite as fast as they should. Good to know! My Neurologist is also okay with
keeping me off any CRAB drugs as it would be a little pointless if we are going
to have kids at some point in the future and with the little symptoms I do have
currently. Interesting thing was if I do have another attack they would use
IVIG as a treatment instead. Good to know. I asked about whether or not I should
get a flu shot seeing as I'm considered immune compromised. She reminded me
that I'm not compromised, I'm actually immune boosted. So, with the little amount
of contact I have with kidlets, and/or lots of people through work I don't need
to get a flu shot.

I will go for a new brain MRI... just the scan though so they can have a new
baseline. I was warned that I'll likely have more lesions and that it shouldn't
bother me or upset me. Everyone gets new lesions and those lesions don't necessarily
mean I'm about to have another attack. Two years ago my first ever brain scan
showed two tiny lesions and that's it. It'll be interesting to see what it looks
like now! Did Larry have kids!?

Avonex now available in Japan

2006-11-15 15:04:06

I'm incredibly shocked that patients in Japan are only now able to purchase
Avonex! I wonder why it took this much longer to get through the health
care system there? Â "In July 2006, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour
and Welfare approved AVONEX for the prevention of MS relapse. AVONEX is the
first new MS treatment available in Japan in six years. It is the second disease-modifying
therapy approved to treat MS in Japan and the only one that can be administered
once a week. There are approximately 12,000 people diagnosed with MS in Japan.
However, a number of patients are believed to be undiagnosed. In addition,
many Japanese patients are treated with acute rather than long-term therapy,
and there are a number of patients who have discontinued therapy due to perceived
lack of efficacy or side effects. Initially, AVONEX will be introduced in Japan
to hospitals with MS experts, and then Biogen Idec expects it will become more
widely available."

I forgot two things

2006-11-16 09:44:21

I forgot about 2 things my Neurologist talked to me about: 1 - The amount
of Vitamin D I should be taking is now up to 2000 IU instead of the 800 I was
told two years ago. She said there are more trials going on for Vitamin D and
some say that 10,000 is not too much either. 2 - We talked about my not sleeping
well pattern from back pain. She suggested I should not be afraid to take the
Amytriptalene as it's not addictive. She said that sleep for MS patients is
SO important as it really can impact you more that you'd think. She also suggested
I go to Physio and go swimming. I'm way too young to have back pain like this
impacting my life. So, I'll have to look at getting this a better priority in
my life.

It's snowing!

2006-11-25 20:38:53

Woohoo! The first snow fall has started. I think we'll probably get 2cms. Not nearly enough is even sticking to the ground but it sure is lovely to sit inside and look out to see the little white stuff falling :) We might even have a "can't get to work day" this coming week! It happens often here in the land of rain. We have no idea how to drive in wet slushy snow. So, we don't. We close down the city and stay home. I'm not kidding. This is how sad we are here in the lower mainland. There is a snowfall warning and this is from a local news site: "A snowfall warning has been issued for the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. We could get hit with 20 centimetres of snow or more by tomorrow evening. Meteorologists have been watching two weather systems approaching from different directions. John McIntyre of Environment Canada says a pacific low pressure system will clash with an arctic outflow from the Interior, and unlike most snowfalls, Vancouver won't be spared." And come Monday, the rain will come and wash it all away! I just know it!

Snow day

2006-11-27 15:37:23

Snow day November 2006
Originally uploaded by OnlineKim.

Okay, so a little more snow fell than I expected! It sure is a beautiful site.
We don't get snow often so I'm trying to hold on to the site of it as much as
I can!

More snow and more snow...

2006-11-29 20:24:26

What is happening in this country!? I heard Toronto is about 13 degees today
and we got up to maybe minus 1 and now it's snowing a whole tonne more again!
Crazy! How on earth do people get to work to do a month end deadline tomorrow
with all this white stuff!? They're calling for freezing rain overnight too!
My drive home wasen't bad actually. But my parents were shmucked by someone
driving a jeep. Acidents are happening all over the place because us rain drivers
seem to think it's okay to tail gate even when it's snowing! Ugh. Sure is pretty
to look at though. From inside. But I kinda liked shovelling snow. Maybe it's
just novelty. It's almost 8:30 now so i think I'll head out to make path to
my car again.

Calpain inhibitor used in mouse model of MS

2006-11-29 20:34:52

Yet more research news for an oral option that is being tested in mice: "The scientists at the State University of New York's Downstate Medical Center say the agent, a calpain inhibitor, can be administered orally.Calpains are a family of proteolytic enzymes naturally found in the human body. Inappropriate activation of calpain is associated with a number of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, such as MS. It is known to destroy the myelin sheath that coats and protects the nerves. The researchers say they used the calpain inhibitor for the treatment of a mouse model of MS. Whether administered by injection or by mouth, the inhibitor was shown to reduce clinical illness signs and prevent demyelination and inflammatory infiltration in a dose- and time-dependant manner, holding promise in treating both the acute and chronic phases of MS. The scientists say the inhibitor might also be successful in treating other degenerative illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases."