Posts Categorized: MS News

We both now have hope – MS sisters

Sisters Zoe Bowman and Vikki Langford were both diagnosed with multiple sclerosis within weeks of each other. But while Vikki has been able to get treatment for her form of the condition, Zoe has not. That is because Zoe has the primary progressive form of the disease for which there has been no treatment available… Read more »

Stem Cells in Mouse Hair Seen to Aid Growth of ‘Dense’ Myelin Sheaths Around Nerve Cells, Study Reports

Source Multiple Sclerosis News Today: A subset of stem cells in hair follicles, called melanocytes, appear to do more than just give rise to mature melanocytes, cells that help to determine hair colour. Those melanocyte stem cells, or McSCs, that carry the CD34 protein were found in hair follicles from mice to differentiate into glial cells and… Read more »

Motability offers manual wheelchair lease to customers

Source Independent Living:  An interesting new supplementary service has just been launched by Motability. An interesting new supplementary service has just been launched by Motability. People who lease an adapted vehicle, including WAVs (wheelchair accessible vehicles) through the scheme can now lease a lightweight manual wheelchair at the same time. The wheelchair option is available… Read more »

Mitochondria and progressive MS

Source MS Society: Small but mighty, mitochondria provide the energy that busy nerve cells need to survive. We spoke with mitochondria expert Dr Don Mahad, from the University of Edinburgh, about what makes them so special – and what goes wrong in MS. Mitochondria and progressive MS ‘I’m interested in energy production and demand in the… Read more »

Gabapentin and pregabalin – new rules for prescriptions

Source MS Trust:  From 1 April 2019, gabapentin and pregabalin have been reclassified as controlled drugs, leading to changes in how they are prescribed.   Gabapentin and pregabalin are drugs used to treat a range of symptoms caused by MS, such as nerve pain, spasticity and spasms. Following concerns about misuse of these drugs, on 1 April the law changed so… Read more »

Access improvements at 73 railway stations

Source BBC: Lifts and adjustable ticket counters will be among the new measures brought in over the next five years. The changes, part of an “inclusive transport strategy”, will help disabled passengers as well as those travelling with children or luggage.  Liverpool Central and Luton in England, Barry Town in Wales, and Dumfries in Scotland are among… Read more »

Anyone taking Plegridy?

Source MS Trust: NICE will be assessing Plegridy to decide whether it should continue to be prescribed by the NHS in England. We’ll be telling NICE why we think it should be an option. If you are taking Plegridy we’d really like to know what you think of it, your experiences good and bad.  If you… Read more »

New £1.8m research to explore cognitive screening and rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis

Source University of Nottingham: A new £1.85 million research study led by Professor Roshan das Nair at the Institute of Mental Health aims to develop a new computerised screening tool to detect the “invisible” cognitive impairments that can appear early in the life of a person living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Approximately 100 people are diagnosed… Read more »

How do families affected by MS manage health information

Source MS Trust: Couples and families develop their own unique ways of dealing with an MS diagnosis. A recent UK study looked at how different family units affected by MS, cope with receiving MS health information.  In this study, UK researchers wanted to understand how couples and families affected by MS cope with health information. The… Read more »