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Multiple sclerosis, or MS:
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Is a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease that affects the central nervous system, which is a combination of the brain and spinal cord, and the optic nerves.
MS is believed to be an autoimmune disease that causes damage to myelin, the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibers. This damage interferes with messages between the brain and other parts of the body.
Destroys myelin in multiple areas of the nervous system, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis.
These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken.
Symptoms vary from person to person and from time to time in the same person. For example, one person may experience abnormal fatigue, while another might have severe vision problems. A person with MS could have loss of balance and muscle coordination making walking difficult; another person with MS could have slurred speech, tremors, stiffness and bladder problems. For some people, MS is characterized by periods of relapse and remission, while for others symptoms get progressively worse over time.
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Age-related Effect of MS may be Reversible
Sunday, January 8, 2012
By: UPI
U.S. and British researchers report their work with mice indicates the myelin sheath surrounding nerves lost to multiple sclerosis may be partially rejuvenated.
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MS Bone Marrow Stem Cell Trial to Begin
Sunday, December 4, 2011
By: Stephen Adams, The Telegraph, London
British doctors are to conduct a trial using bone marrow stem cells that they hope could halt or perhaps even reverse the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).
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Stem Cell Promise for Multiple Sclerosis
Thursday, December 1, 2011
By: Biplab Das, Nature
New research has found a way to replenish the fatty layer or myelin sheath around nerve cells1 -- a finding that could yield a cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
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MSRCNY Receives Approval for Groundbreaking Stem Cell Trial in Multiple Sclerosis
Monday, November 21, 2011
By: Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York
Landmark study targets repair and regeneration for MS patients.
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Before a drug or therapy is made available to the general public, it must be tested for safety and effectiveness. These tests, which are overseen by the National Institutes of Health, rely on volunteer patients and can involve both risks and benefits. Please consult your health-care provider if you are considering whether to participate. For more information, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.
These clinical trials don't necessarily involve stem cells, but may be worth learning more about:
Missouri clinical trials recruiting MS patients >>
All clinical trials recruiting MS patients >>
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Rachel Colbeck
My dad and my sister, Lindsey, both have multiple sclerosis. In addition, my aunt on my mom's side was just diagnosed with MS.
Read More >>
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Delbert Mitchell, Jr.
I hope that medical science can find cures for my diseases and those of others who suffer from sickness or injury that are today incurable.
Read More >>
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MS is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system. About 400,000 Americans have MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. Worldwide, MS may affect 2.5 million people.
Anyone may develop the disease, but there are some patterns among sufferers. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, and MS is approximately twice as common in women as in men.
The disease costs individual sufferers $44,000 per year in direct and indirect costs, and the total cost can exceed $2.6 million over a lifetime. For all people with MS in the U.S., the annual cost exceeds $13 billion.
Other human costs are the social, vocational and emotional complications associated with the primary and secondary symptoms:
- A person who becomes unable to walk or drive may lose his or her livelihood.
- The strain of dealing with a chronic neurological illness may disrupt personal relationships.
- And people with MS frequently experience mood swings and depression as primary, secondary or tertiary symptoms of the disease.
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| If you find this information helpful, please consider taking action below so we at Missouri Cures may continue our education efforts. Thank you! |
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Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
National MS Society
U.S. National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health
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Events
Learn more about the promise of stem cell research -- join us at one of these upcoming events!
2012 Missouri Cures Education Foundation Speakers Series
sponsored by
the Staenberg Family Foundation
in conjunction with THF Realty
& MedStem
Feb. 26, Columbia
Mark Kirk, Ph.D.
March 11, Kansas City
Dawn Cornelison, Ph.D.
April 15, Columbia
John Viator, Ph.D.
April 22, St. Louis
Marie Csete, M.D., Ph.D.
May Fund-raiser, St. Louis
Details TBA
June 10, St. Louis
Bill Miller, M.D.
August (date TBA), Springfield
John Viator, Ph.D.
Aug. 26, Kirksville
Dawn Cornelison, Ph.D.
Sept. 9, Columbia
Russell Swerdlow, M.D.
September, Kansas City
Details TBA
October Fund-raiser, St. Louis
Details TBA
Learn more »
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