(Press-News.org) A review of the literature on treating multiple sclerosis (MS) aims to provide physicians with evidence-based information on the latest treatments for this chronic disease. The article, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) looks at the latest pharmacologic research as well as disease-modifying agents and the benefits and risks of various treatments.
"Recently, several new compounds have been developed and approved with the aim of favourably changing the disease course, but with varied success," writes Dr. Loredana La Mantia, Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis Cochrane and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System Group, Milan Italy, with coauthors. "The evaluation of the effectiveness of treatments for MS is complex, and identifying the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient may be difficult."
Steroids are the most effective way of treating relapses, with intravenous use of methylprednisolone the usual treatment. A systematic review showed "that oral and intravenous administration of steroids may have similar efficacies" and "could have a substantial impact on clinical practice by allowing outpatient instead of hospital management of relapses in many instances," write the authors.
They discuss the benefits and risks of immunosuppressants such as natalizumab, fingolimod and others as well as new treatments under investigation.
"Several important areas of the pharmacologic management of MS need further investigation. The long-term efficacy of drug treatments is unknown in terms of the accumulation of disability and the prognosis of relapsing-remitting MS. A better understanding of the neuroprotective effects of available drugs and newer compounds is needed," the authors conclude.
INFORMATION:
Multiple sclerosis: A review of current treatments for physicians
2014-04-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Neuroimaging: Live from inside the cell
2014-04-22
This news release is available in German.
Reactive oxygen species are important intracellular signaling molecules, but their mode of action is complex: In low concentrations they regulate key aspects of cellular function and behavior, while at high concentrations they can cause "oxidative stress", which damages organelles, membranes and DNA. To analyze how redox signaling unfolds in single cells and organelles in real-time, an innovative optical microscopy technique has been developed jointly by the teams of LMU Professor Martin Kerschensteiner and TUM Professor ...
Research shows impact of Facebook unfriending
2014-04-22
DENVER (April 22, 2014) – Two studies from the University of Colorado Denver are shedding new light on the most common type of `friend' to be unfriended on Facebook and their emotional responses to it.
The studies, published earlier this year, show that the most likely person to be unfriended is a high school acquaintance.
"The most common reason for unfriending someone from high school is that the person posted polarizing comments often about religion or politics," said Christopher Sibona, a doctoral student in the Computer Science and Information Systems program at ...
AMP publishes curriculum recommendations for medical laboratory scientists
2014-04-22
Bethesda, MD, April 22, 2014: The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) released a report today in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics on recommendations for a molecular diagnostics curriculum at both the baccalaureate and master's levels of education. The report was prepared by the Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) Curriculum Task Force of the AMP Training and Education Committee. "Our goal was to address the critical need of educating future medical laboratory scientists appropriately in order to manage the rapidly growing and changing realm of molecular diagnostic ...
New patenting guidelines are needed for biotechnology
2014-04-22
HOUSTON – (April 22, 2014) – Biotechnology scientists must be aware of the broad patent landscape and push for new patent and licensing guidelines, according to a new paper from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Published in the current issue of the journal Regenerative Medicine, the paper is based on the June 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) v. Myriad Genetics that naturally occurring genes are unpatentable. The court case and rulings garnered discussion in the public about patenting biological materials.
"The ...
Mantis shrimp stronger than airplanes
2014-04-22
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Inspired by the fist-like club of a mantis shrimp, a team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside, in collaboration with University of Southern California and Purdue University, have developed a design structure for composite materials that is more impact resistant and tougher than the standard used in airplanes.
"The more we study the club of this tiny crustacean, the more we realize its structure could improve so many things we use every day," said David Kisailus, a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Science and the Winston ...
NASA gets 2 last looks at Tropical Cyclone Jack
2014-04-22
VIDEO:
This 3-D flyby from NASA's TRMM satellite of Tropical Cyclone Jack on April 21 shows that some of the thunderstorms were shown by TRMM PR were still reaching height of...
Click here for more information.
Tropical Cyclone Jack lost its credentials today, April 22, as it no longer qualified as a tropical cyclone. However, before it weakened, NASA's TRMM satellite took a "second look" at the storm yesterday.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite had two ...
High-performance, low-cost ultracapacitors built with graphene and carbon nanotubes
2014-04-22
WASHINGTON D.C., April 22, 2014 -- By combining the powers of two single-atom-thick carbon structures, researchers at the George Washington University's Micro-propulsion and Nanotechnology Laboratory have created a new ultracapacitor that is both high performance and low cost.
The device, described in the Journal of Applied Physics, capitalizes on the synergy brought by mixing graphene flakes with single-walled carbon nanotubes, two carbon nanostructures with complementary properties.
Ultracapacitors are souped-up energy storage devices that hold high amounts of energy ...
International team sequences rainbow trout genome
2014-04-22
PULLMAN, Wash.—Using fish bred at Washington State University, an international team of researchers has mapped the genetic profile of the rainbow trout, a versatile salmonid whose relatively recent genetic history opens a window into how vertebrates evolve.
The 30-person team, led by Yann Guiguen of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, reports its findings this week in Nature Communications.
The investigators focused on the rate at which genes have evolved since a rare genome doubling event occurred in the rainbow trout approximately 100 million years ...
Wildlife response to climate change is likely underestimated, experts warn
2014-04-22
AMHERST, Mass. – Analyzing thousands of breeding bird surveys sent in by citizen scientists across the western United States and Canada over 35 years, wildlife researchers report that most of the 40 songbird species they studied shifted either northward or toward higher elevation in response to climate change, but did not necessarily do both.
This means that most previous studies of potential climate change impacts on wildlife that looked only at one factor or the other have likely underestimated the effects of environmental warming, say research wildlife biologists ...
Vacuum ultraviolet lamp of the future created in Japan
2014-04-22
WASHINGTON D.C., April 22, 2014 -- A team of researchers in Japan has developed a solid-state lamp that emits high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light at the shortest wavelengths ever recorded for such a device, from 140 to 220 nanometers. This is within the range of vacuum-UV light -- so named because while light of that energy can propagate in a vacuum, it is quickly absorbed by oxygen in the air.
This fact makes vacuum UV light extremely useful for industrial applications from sterilizing medical devices to cleaning semiconductor substrates because when it strikes oxygen-containing ...