MS drug offers patients 'glimmer of hope' for better treatment! Why not make the more effective DMTs the standard of care? Very good news for MSers with more advanced MS (aka as chronic progressive MS). The question is will big pharma pick-up the baton and do the necessary phase 3 trials? I suspect not the IP on ibudilast is too dodgy. Phase 2 Trial of Ibudilast in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. When you develop adverse events when taking a placebo we call this the NOCEBO effect. This review looks at nocebo responses in brain disease trials and their potential impact. Nocebo Responses in Brain Diseases: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature.
Another methodological problem with MRI; the gadolinium effect on thalamus and whole brain tissue segmentation. I have come to the conclusion that we won't be able to use brain volume loss to monitor end-organ damage in individual MSers. Lack of outdoor activity and hence less UVB/sunlight exposure. The more outdoor activity you have as a child the lower your risk of getting MS. #PreventMS
Another documented MS epidemic, only this time in Italy. Why are we not taking this more seriously? Surely we should be investing in #MSPrevention studies? A great article by our Barts-MS physio on the meaning of exercise and physical activity in community dwelling MSers. Please note it not just about movement. A must read. Is it time to move up from #ThinkHand and start a #ThinkSwallowing campaign? Swallowing problems are commoner that we realise in MS. Inclusion of optic nerve involvement in dissemination in space criteria for multiple sclerosis improves the diagnostic accuracy of the new rendition of the McDonald criteria. #NeuroSpeak. Should we hack the criteria and change them?