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World MS Day latest: more than 50 per cent of MSIF members sign up

Has your MS society signed up to participate in the first ever World MS Day on Wednesday 27 May 2009?

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Ataxia and tremor in MS

Thank you to everyone who took part in our online survey about ataxia and tremor in MS, which has now closed.

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MSIF strengthening regional cooperation

MSIF is stepping up its activities to strengthen regional and linguistic cooperation. We are presently working with the Egyptian MS Society in the preparation of a seminar for MS organisations and stakeholders in Arab speaking countries. This will take place in Cairo, most likely towards the end of February.

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Profile of the Month : January 2009

Henri Goethals

Country: Belgium
Age: 62
Type of MS: Progressive MS
Year of Diagnosis: 1979

My attitude towards the disease has evolved considerably. In the beginning, nothing was stable or predictable, and everything was frightening. Now that the disease has taken a quieter course, life has become easier.

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Multiple sclerosis and the TNFRSF1A R92Q mutation: clinical characteristics of 21 cases

The authors studied the clinical characteristics of MS in people who also had TRAPS, another autoimmune disorder. They found that in these people the features of MS were quite typical.

authors: Kümpfel T, Hoffmann LA, Pellkofer H, Pöllmann W, Feneberg W, Hohlfeld R, Lohse P

source: Neurology. 2008 Nov 25;71(22):1812-20

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Abnormal connectivity of the sensorimotor network in patients with MS: a multicenter fMRI study

The authors used an MRI technique to study functional changes in the brain in people with MS. They found evidence of brain reorganisation which may provide a compensatory mechanism in MS.

authors: Rocca MA, Absinta M, Valsasina P, Ciccarelli O, Marino S, Rovira A, Gass A, Wegner C, Enzinger C, Korteweg T, Sormani MP, Mancini L, Thompson AJ, De Stefano N, Montalban X, Hirsch J, Kappos L, Ropele S, Palace J, Barkhof F, Matthews PM, Filippi M

source: Hum Brain Mapp. 2008 Nov 25. [Epub ahead of print]

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An APOA1 promoter polymorphism is associated with cognitive performance in patients with multiple sclerosis

This study showed an association between a gene, which has been linked to a decreased risk of dementia in the general population, and better performance on cognitive tests in people with MS, suggesting that it may have a protective effect.

authors: Koutsis G, Panas M, Giogkaraki E, Karadima G, Sfagos C, Vassilopoulos D

source: Mult Scler. 2008 Nov 21. [Epub ahead of print]

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Switching first-line disease-modifying therapy after failure: impact on the course of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisSwitching first-line disease-modifying therapy after failure: impact on the course of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

People vary in their response to interferon and glatiramer, first-line treatments used in MS. The authors found that switching treatments can be useful in people who have an initial poor response.

authors: Gajofatto A, Bacchetti P, Grimes B, High A, Waubant E

source: Mult Scler. 2008 Nov 21. [Epub ahead of print]

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Decreased T-cell reactivity to Epstein-Barr virus-infected lymphoblastoid cell lines in multiple sclerosis

The cause of MS is not known but many factors are implicated including possibly viruses. The authors investigated immunity to Epstein-Barr virus in people with MS and found fewer immune cells, suggesting that it might somehow be involved.

authors: Pender MP, Csurhes PA, Lenarczyk A, Pfluger CM, Burrows SR

source: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2008 Nov 17. [Epub ahead of print]

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Genotype-Phenotype correlations in multiple sclerosis: HLA genes influence disease severity inferred by 1HMR spectroscopy and MRI measures

The role of genes in the pathogenesis of MS is complex. The authors found an association between a gene and the severity of MS, in terms of symptoms, brain lesions and molecular MRI measures in the brain, suggesting that it may be involved.

authors: Okuda DT, Srinivasan R, Oksenberg JR, Goodin DS, Baranzini SE, Beheshtian A, Waubant E, Zamvil SS, Leppert D, Qualley P, Lincoln R, Gomez R, Caillier S, George M, Wang J, Nelson SJ, Cree BA, Hauser SL, Pelletier D

source: Brain. 2008 Nov 20. [Epub ahead of print]

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Higher levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are associated with a lower incidence of multiple sclerosis only in women

The pathogenesis of MS is complex and several environmental factors may be involved. This study found that higher levels of vitamin D in blood are associated with a lower risk of MS. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical significance of this finding.

authors: Kragt JJ, van Amerongen BM, Killestein J, Dijkstra CD, Uitdehaag BM, Polman CH, Lips P

source: Mult Scler. 2008 Aug 13. [Epub ahead of print]

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Treatment with azathioprine and cyclic methylprednisolone has little or no effect on bioactivity in anti-interferon beta antibody-positive patients with multiple sclerosis

This study investigated whether suppression of the immune system was useful in reducing neutralizing antibodies against interferon in people with MS who respond poorly to treatment, but found that it did not help.

authors: Ravnborg M, Bendtzen K, Christensen O, Jensen P, Hesse D, Tovey M, Sørensen P

source: Mult Scler. 2008 Nov 21. [Epub ahead of print]

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Gender-related differences in MS: a study of conventional and nonconventional MRI measures

This study showed differences between men and women in brain MRI measures in people with MS, suggesting that sex hormones may be related to mechanisms of brain lesions and their repair.

authors: Antulov R, Weinstock-Guttman B, Cox J, Hussein S, Durfee J, Caiola C, Dwyer M, Bergsland N, Abdelrahman N, Stosic M, Hojnacki D, Munschauer F, Miletic D, Zivadinov R

source: Mult Scler. 2008 Nov 21. [Epub ahead of print]

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France-German MS meeting welcomes international scientists to Paris, March 2009

A conference organised by the German MS society, Deutsche MS Gesellschaft, and the French MS research association, Association pour la Recherché sur la Sclerose En Plaques, will take place on March 6 2009.

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Supporting family caregivers of people with MS in Madrid, Spain

source: La Federación Española para la Lucha contra la Esclerosis Múltiple

On November 18 2008, the Spanish MS Federation, La Federación Española para la Lucha contra la Esclerosis Múltiple (FELEM), organised "Support to family caregivers of people with MS" in Madrid.

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