Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Support Group
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From www.ivanhoe.com
Reported November 28, 2007
Hope for MS
PORTLAND, Ore. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- 400,000 people in this country suffer from multiple sclerosis, or MS, and theres still no cure. Now, a new drug is showing promise.
Rich Elliott is having fun with his daughter. But its hard work just staying on his feet.
"Its difficult to walk and stay upright without falling," Elliott says.
At 36, Elliott is fighting a daily battle with MS
"dexterity, speech is slurred sometimes" he says.
Elliott is now part of a small group of people in the United States testing a new drug. At this point, hed settle for anything that keeps the debilitating symptoms from getting worse.
"Id know that this is as bad as its gonna get, and I could handle that," Elliott says.
Researchers say current MS therapies affect more than just the bad cells. They can also harm good cells that protect the bodys nervous system.
"Its like having a sledge hammer to kill a fly," says Arthur Vandenbark, Ph.D., Neurologist at O.H.S.U./V.A. Medical Center in Portland, Ore.
Dr. Vandenbark and his team designed RTL-1000 to zero-in on the bad cells that cause MS. It works by binding to those cells receptors and inactivating them. Pictures from an animal study show MS before RTL and after. The MS cells simply disappear.
"I think we can potentially reduce the symptoms a lot, maybe completely, in early stage patients," Dr. Vandenbark says.
Researchers hope RTL will reverse damage already caused by MS, even for patients whose disease has progressed. For Elliott, its hard to imagine.
"If I could walk on my own again without assistance, have a normal day, be able to use your fingers, to get it back would be incredible," Elliott says.
Hes hopeful the new medication could hold the key.
If RTL-1000 is proven effective in the fight against MS, scientists hope this kind of therapy may also be used to treat other auto-immune diseases, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. MS is about three-times more likely to occur in women than in men.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Arthur Vandenbark, M.D.
VA/OHSU
vandenba@ohsu.edu
From www.ivanhoe.com
Reported November 28, 2007
Hope for MS
PORTLAND, Ore. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- 400,000 people in this country suffer from multiple sclerosis, or MS, and theres still no cure. Now, a new drug is showing promise.
Rich Elliott is having fun with his daughter. But its hard work just staying on his feet.
"Its difficult to walk and stay upright without falling," Elliott says.
At 36, Elliott is fighting a daily battle with MS
"dexterity, speech is slurred sometimes" he says.
Elliott is now part of a small group of people in the United States testing a new drug. At this point, hed settle for anything that keeps the debilitating symptoms from getting worse.
"Id know that this is as bad as its gonna get, and I could handle that," Elliott says.
Researchers say current MS therapies affect more than just the bad cells. They can also harm good cells that protect the bodys nervous system.
"Its like having a sledge hammer to kill a fly," says Arthur Vandenbark, Ph.D., Neurologist at O.H.S.U./V.A. Medical Center in Portland, Ore.
Dr. Vandenbark and his team designed RTL-1000 to zero-in on the bad cells that cause MS. It works by binding to those cells receptors and inactivating them. Pictures from an animal study show MS before RTL and after. The MS cells simply disappear.
"I think we can potentially reduce the symptoms a lot, maybe completely, in early stage patients," Dr. Vandenbark says.
Researchers hope RTL will reverse damage already caused by MS, even for patients whose disease has progressed. For Elliott, its hard to imagine.
"If I could walk on my own again without assistance, have a normal day, be able to use your fingers, to get it back would be incredible," Elliott says.
Hes hopeful the new medication could hold the key.
If RTL-1000 is proven effective in the fight against MS, scientists hope this kind of therapy may also be used to treat other auto-immune diseases, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. MS is about three-times more likely to occur in women than in men.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Arthur Vandenbark, M.D.
VA/OHSU
vandenba@ohsu.edu
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I have been here before, a long long time ago and now I am back.Forgive me for not just saying what I want to say,even under a triple dose of antidepressants it is still raw and seeping and I am hesitant at revealing it as at least under the bandages around my heart I don,t have to look at how raw and wounded.My child was cleaved from my heart by his own actions. my child of ten,turning eleven...
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Has anyone tried these supplements? Do they give MGers more quality of life by improving memory and overall well being?Thanks!Barbel
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00411723?order=1
Hugs
Morgaine