16 September 2008

website | contact us | donate

MSIF News

Profile of the Month

Research News

MS News

Making Connections

MSIF News


	Summaries of new MSIF activities, events, projects, programmes, resources, publications and more.

Spasticity edition of MS in focus out now!

This latest edition of our biannual magazine, which looks in detail at the symptom of spasticity, is now available to download from our website.

Profile of the Month


	Summaries of news, views and achievements from people with MS around the world.

Profile of the Month : October 2008

Kathleen Wilson

Kathleen Wilson
Country: USA
Age: 50
Occupation: Founding President, MSWorld, Inc
Type of MS: Relapsing remitting
Year of diagnosis: 1988

My motto is ‘wellness is a state of mind.’ I believe that living well is a choice that we make every day and our personal happiness has everything to do with how we feel about ourselves and how we connect and share with others.

Read the full article here:

English Espanol Italiano Francais Deutsch Русский

Research News


	Summaries of all the latest research findings on MS selected by a team based at the Institute of Neurology, London.

Assessment: the use of natalizumab (Tysabri) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (an evidence-based review): report of the therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology

The authors reviewed the clinical trials of natalizumab a new medication for aggressive MS. They concluded that it is effective in reducing inflammation and disability but there is a 1/1000 risk of serious side effects.

authors: Goodin DS, Cohen BA, O'Connor P, Kappos L, Stevens JC; Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology

source: Neurology. 2008 Sep 2;71(10):766-73

Cognitive assessment and quantitative magnetic resonance metrics can help to identify benign multiple sclerosis

The authors used MRI and neuropsychological assessment to identify people with a particularly mild type of MS. They concluded that these two tools can help to identify people with this form of the condition.

authors: Amato MP, Portaccio E, Stromillo ML, Goretti B, Zipoli V, Siracusa G, Battaglini M, Giorgio A, Bartolozzi ML, Guidi L, Sorbi S, Federico A, De Stefano N

source: Neurology. 2008 Aug 26;71(9):632-8

Oligodendrocyte differentiation and implantation: new insights for remyelinating cell therapy

This article gives an overview of the normal function of oligodendrocytes, the cells which produce myelin, and discusses the current status of research in stem-cell therapy in MS.

authors: Sher F, Balasubramaniyan V, Boddeke E, Copray S

source: Curr Opin Neurol. 2008 Oct;21(5):607-14

Morphology and evolution of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis. A longitudinal MRI study

The authors used MRI to study how grey matter lesions changed in people with MS over 1 year. They found that about 90% of lesions did not appear to change on MRI, whilst around 10% increased in size.

authors: Calabrese M, Filippi M, Rovaris M, Mattisi I, Bernardi V, Atzori M, Favaretto A, Barachino L, Rinaldi L, Romualdi C, Perini P, Gallo P

source: Neuroimage. 2008 Oct 1;42(4):1324-8. Epub 2008 Jul 3

Cortical recruitment during selective attention in multiple sclerosis: an fMRI investigation of individual differences

The authors used functional MRI, a recently developed MRI technique, to study brain activity during attention tasks in people with MS. They found an increase in brain activation related to MS. However, in contrast to previous studies it did not appear to be associated with compensatory reorganization.

authors: Prakash RS, Erickson KI, Snook EM, Colcombe SJ, Motl RW, Kramer AF

source: Neuropsychologia. 2008 Oct;46(12):2888-95. Epub 2008 Jun 4

MS News


	Summaries of MS news from websites around the world.

MS trial alert: investigators recruiting worldwide for study of atacicept in relapsing MS

source: US National MS Society

Investigators at seven sites in the US and other sites around the world are recruiting 292 people with relapsing forms of MS for a study of atacicept – an experimental immune-modifying drug delivered in injections under the skin – versus inactive placebo.

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

source: MS Society of Canada

Researchers from the Netherlands report on implications of vitamin D in the etiology of Multiple Sclerosis.

Listen to an article from the UK MS Society's magazine on MRI

source: UK MS Society

Professor David Miller, Head of the Department of Neuroinflammation at the Institute of Neurology in London, UK, explains some of the main achievements of MRI in MS research, and sets out the future priorities.

Hungarian Multiple Sclerosis Society celebrate national MS Day and 20th anniversary of MSIF membership

source: Magyar SM Társaság

Magyar SM Társaság, the Hungarian Multiple Sclerosis Society, marked Hungarian MS Day and their 20th anniversary of MSIF membership with two days of activities.

Tell a friend

The email you subscribed with us is {{print email}}

Within this newsletter the following options are available: MSIF News; People with MS News; Research News and MS Society News. To amend your options please login to the 'My world of MS' online community where you can also read diary entries from people affected by MS, leave your own diary entries and send messages to other users. You can also change your email address, contact details and subscribe to our free publications.

If you have an RSS News Reader you can get the latest news syndicated to you by copying the following link to your Reader: Syndicate.

If you do not want to receive future issues of this newsletter or if you have received this in error, please accept our apologies and simply unsubscribe here

Multiple Sclerosis International Federation
3rd Floor Skyline House, 200 Union Street, SE1 0LX
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7620 1911
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7620 1922
Registered Charity: 1105321
Email: info@msif.org

Click here to learn more about the work of the Making Connections sponsor.