Blood Test Might Predict Worsening of MS

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• November 13, 2023
• Full Page

One issue hampering the care of people with multiple sclerosis is assessing just how quickly the neurological illness might progress.

Now, a team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), say they've spotted at test that could help do just that.

Blood ...

Stem Cell Treatment Halts MS for Some Patients

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• September 27, 2023
• Full Page

A new study is strengthening the evidence that stem cell transplants can be highly effective for some people with multiple sclerosis -- sending the disease into remission for years, and sometimes reversing disability.

Researchers found that of 174 MS patients who underwe...

Emotional Issues Could Be Early Sign of MS

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• September 27, 2023
• Full Page

A newer understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) suggests that psychiatric conditions like anxiety and depression may emerge long before classic MS symptoms.

“For a long time, it was thought that MS only really began clinically when a person experienced their first dem...

Gene Test Spots Those Vulnerable to Rare but Severe Side Effect of Drugs for MS, Other Conditions

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• September 13, 2023
• Full Page

A large number of drugs used to treat everything from multiple sclerosis to blood cancers to rheumatoid arthritis may cause a rare but often-fatal condition called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

But a simple genetic test can determine who has a 10-fold...

Fatigue Can Plague People With MS. Exercise May Help

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• August 9, 2023
• Full Page

Patients with a type of multiple sclerosis (MS) known as relapsing-remitting MS could have less fatigue if they got more active and were in better physical shape, according to new research.

The Earlier MS Is Treated, the Better

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• July 26, 2023
• Full Page

Patients who get treatment for multiple sclerosis at the earliest signs of disease may have a lower risk of disability later, new research suggests.

Among nearly 600 patients, there were lower odds of disability and progression among people diagnosed and treated within s...

Discovery of MS 'Severity Gene' Could Lead to Better Treatments

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• June 29, 2023
• Full Page

For the first time, scientists have identified a genetic variant that may make some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) vulnerable to faster progression.

In a study of more than 22,000 people with MS, researchers found that those who carried a particular genetic variant ...

Pregnancy Seems to Ease MS Symptoms, and Research May Show Why

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• June 15, 2023
• Full Page

Women with multiple sclerosis temporarily get much better when pregnant, and researchers now think they know why.

Pregnancy causes a downshift in a woman's immune system, and it appears that this unintentionally improves symptoms associated with the autoimmune disorder M...

Black Americans' Risk for MS May Be Higher Than Thought

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• June 14, 2023
• Full Page

For years, multiple sclerosis was seen as a disease that largely affects white people. But a new study finds that it's much more common among Black Americans than previously believed.

Researchers found that in 2010, an estimated 3 out of every 1,000 Black Americans were ...

Stress Across the Life Span Could Worsen MS

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• May 29, 2023
• Full Page

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system and leaves patients suffering from a host of symptoms, and now new research finds life stressors can make those symptoms even worse.

Poverty, abuse and divorce in childhood and adulthood...

Scientists May Understand Link Between Common Virus & Multiple Sclerosis

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 18, 2023
• Full Page

It's been known for years that Epstein-Barr virus can trigger multiple sclerosis or drive progression of the degenerative disease, and Swedish researchers think they now understand why.

Some people have antibodies against the common Epstein-Barr virus that mistakenly att...

Used Early, Drug Might Delay MS Symptom Onset

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• April 21, 2023
• Full Page

Growing numbers of people have MRI brain scans to find out what's causing their headaches, see if they have a concussion or for another reason, when a doctor may spot the tell-tale lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Called radiologically isolated syndrome, this occurs i...

Insomnia, Sleep Apnea Rise in Women With MS

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 27, 2023
• Full Page

While thinking declines can be a common symptom of multiple sclerosis in women, new research suggests sleep, or lack of it, could be making matters worse.

"Sleep disorders have gained substantial recognition for their role in cognitive [thinking] decline, which affects u...

Similar Processes Could Link MS With Heart Disease

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 22, 2023
• Full Page

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and atherosclerosis both involve an abnormal hardening of body tissue, and recent research suggests they may be linked.

MS is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord. Atherosclerosis is hardening of the arteries.

S...

Fertility Treatments Pose No Danger to People With MS

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 16, 2023
• Full Page

Women with multiple sclerosis who want to undergo fertility treatment can do so without worry, according to a new study.

Participants who had MS were no more likely to have a flare-up of the disease after receiving fertility treatments than they were before their treatm...

Could the Mediterranean Diet Help People With MS?

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• March 2, 2023
• Full Page

A Mediterranean diet may help multiple sclerosis (MS) patients ward off damage to their thinking skills.

New research finds that a diet rich in veggies, fruit, fish and healthy fat reduced their risk of developing memory loss as well as losing the ability to concentrate,...

Could Bad Sleep in Teen Years Raise Risks for MS?

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• January 25, 2023
• Full Page

Teens who regularly fail to get a good night's sleep may face a higher risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults, new research suggests.

“We found that sleeping too little or experiencing poor sleep quality [as a teen] increased the risk of later devel...

Stem Cell Therapy May Slow MS Better Than Meds: Study

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• December 28, 2022
• Full Page

A new study is adding to evidence that people with multiple sclerosis can benefit from a type of stem cell transplant -- including some patients who are in a more advanced phase of the disease.

The research is the latest look at a potential alternative treatment for some...

Light Therapy Might Ease MS-Related Fatigue

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• December 16, 2022
• Full Page

Extreme fatigue often tops the list of the most distressing symptoms for millions of people who live with multiple sclerosis (MS).

And now, a new study sugg...

Obesity Could Speed Disability When MS Strikes

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• November 2, 2022
• Full Page

Obesity is never healthy, and that may be especially true for people who also develop multiple sclerosis.

Obese people with MS are likely to see the disability linked to the disease rapidly worsen, said German researchers who followed more than 1,000 patients in a new st...

Selma Blair Exits 'Dancing With the Stars,' Citing MS Health Concerns

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• October 18, 2022
• Full Page

Actress Selma Blair made one last waltz through the “Dancing with the Stars" ballroom on Monday night.

The actress, who has multiple sclerosis

Gut Microbiome Could Play Role in MS

• By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• September 26, 2022
• Full Page

Scientists have been looking to the microbiome, and its numerous gut bacteria, as an area of research with plenty of potential for finding connections to various diseases.

Now, scienti...

Lupus, MS and Other Autoimmune Disorders Raise Heart Risks

• Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter
• August 31, 2022
• Full Page

Research has linked heart disease to specific autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Now, a huge study shows that autoimmune diseases as a group increase your chances of developing heart ills.

Autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis...

New MS Treatment Shows Promise in Trial

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• August 25, 2022
• Full Page

An experimental antibody therapy for multiple sclerosis can cut symptom flare-ups by half, versus a standard treatment, a new clinical trial has found.

The drug, called ublituximab, be...

There's More MS in Northern Countries. Now, Researchers Find New Reason Why

• By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• August 25, 2022
• Full Page

Vitamin D exposure, or lack of it, has long been thought to influence the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) because the disease is diagn...

Who Fares Worse After Multiple Sclerosis Strikes?

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• August 11, 2022
• Full Page

For people with multiple sclerosis, certain factors early in their disease may determine their quality of life in the years to come, a new study suggests.

In medicine, there are ways to objectively measure a disease's course, such as whether a medication is keeping it un...

Cancer Med Might Be Powerful Treatment for MS

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• July 14, 2022
• Full Page

A drug used "off-label" for multiple sclerosis (MS) is more effective than a standard medication at preventing symptom flare-ups, a new clinical ...

Hope for 1st Vaccine Against Virus Driving 'Mono,' Cancers and Maybe MS

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 5, 2022
• Full Page

Two experimental vaccines show promise in protecting against infection with the "mono" virus, which also causes cancer and has been implicated as a potential trigger of multiple sclerosis, a new paper reports.

Tested only in animals so far, the vaccines block two pathway...

Does Race Affect the Odds of Developing MS?

• By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
• May 2, 2022
• Full Page

Black Americans are as likely to get multiple sclerosis (MS) as their white counterparts, but rates are much lower among Hispanic and Asian Americans, new research shows.

The findings refute the long-held belief that MS is rare in Black people, according to the study aut...

In U.S., Price Tag for MS Care Tops $85 Billion

• By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
• April 14, 2022
• Full Page

In 2019 alone, multiple sclerosis (MS) cost Americans an estimated $85.4 billion, a new study finds.

That amount included over $63 billion in direct medical costs and $22 billion in indirect non-medical costs.

"The findings of this study help underscore the burden ...

Telemedicine Helped Many MS Patients During Pandemic

• March 3, 2022
• Full Page

Telemedicine was widely used by Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) during the pandemic, and many were happy with the results, a new study finds.

"The findings suggest that telehealth services were well liked d...

Could the Keto Diet Help People With MS?

• March 2, 2022
• Full Page

The Keto diet is a low-carb lover's dream, but a new study suggests the popular eating plan may also improve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).