The Forest Whispers My Name II

And So It Begins... Again.

2009-02-22T09:17:37-08:00

The time has come. The new blog is at http://smyes.com/wwww/

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Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man

2009-02-20T04:05:01-08:00

On-repeat-song-of-the-day. However, this time, it's more about the lyrics than about the music. I will explain by the end of the day... or tomorrow. Note: It was hard to decide between this one, Symphorce - Condemned and Heed - I Am Alive . Curious? Come back again soon. Get...

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Shape of Despair - In the Mist

2009-02-16T17:22:24-08:00

A deep voice, with melodic instruments on the background. Amidst chaos, this song (for more than once) made me find (some) inner peace. This homemade video is my personal tribute to the fog and its mysteries. Get the Flash Player to see this player. JavaScript is also needed to...

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MS Drug Copaxone Approved for Suggestive Multiple Sclerosis (in Europe)

2009-02-19T13:50:34-08:00

Copaxone's usage indication was expanded to including treatment for patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) suggestive of multiple sclerosis. One thing that is frustrating in some situations is that multiple sclerosis, by definition, involves more than one "episode" or relapse (hence...

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Multiple Sclerosis link to Vitamin D

2009-02-05T16:47:48-08:00

(I'm glad i'm taking a Vitamin D supplement) Researchers have found evidence that a direct interaction between vitamin D and a common genetic variant alters the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. The research suggests that vitamin D deficiency in the mother during pregnancy and a...

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Shoo.

2009-02-03T07:01:30-08:00

Title is obvious - this is the MRI of my brain 1 year ago.

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Stem cells used to reverse MS

2009-01-30T16:57:19-08:00

Ok, this has to be GREAT news, as it just exploded on Medilexicon, Reuters, Medical News Today, the Independent and the Lancet Neurology . Researchers have reversed multiple sclerosis symptoms in early stage patients by using bone marrow stem cell transplants to reset the immune system. A...

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Mike Oldfield - Man In The Rain

2009-01-28T16:12:47-08:00

(music and lyrics by Mike Oldfield sung by Cara Dillon, Heather Burnett) My Dying Bride doesn't depress me. Cradle of Filth actually lightens up my mood. But -THIS- song... (which is definitely in my Mike Oldfield alltime top5)... saddens me. Go figure. ahhhh i'll just shut up...

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Introspection

2009-01-24T17:44:20-08:00

Some people have high hopes regarding gifts on their birthdays. For me, something as simple as a kiss can be the most complete and satisfying gift i receive. Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious mental...

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Novartis launches Extavia®

2009-01-24T17:32:25-08:00

Novartis launches Extavia®, a new therapeutic option to help patients combat devastating symptoms of multiple sclerosis - Extavia offers patients and physicians a new branded version of standard-of-care interferon beta-1b - Approved to treat MS patients from first signs of active disease to...

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Woman with multiple sclerosis will attempt Everest

2009-01-24T09:53:09-08:00

This lady has balls. Big ones. Wendy Booker's left side is numb from her toes to the top of her rib cage. Yet somehow, she has managed to climb the tallest peaks on six continents. For Booker to complete the climbing feat known as the Seven Summits, just one peak remains: Mount Everest,...

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Merck: New pill may work for MS

2009-01-24T06:16:29-08:00

German drugmaker Merck Serono is one step closer to releasing the first pill to treat multiple sclerosis, the company said yesterday. In a press statement, Merck said that patients taking cladribine tablets had a nearly 60 percent lower relapse rate than those on placebo pills. The two-year...

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Elan hires Citigroup to weigh sale of company

2009-01-14T05:44:03-08:00

So... apparently, you can't be selling crap that kills people. Even when people know the risks. I guess the regular hanging or shot in the head is also an option, but i don't see people selling the service and making a profit out of it. Even though some people WOULD buy it. Just because...

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Major step towards treating multiple sclerosis as trials show drug reverses effects of disease

2009-01-12T03:33:09-08:00

• Treatment could be licensed as early as 2010 • Scans show brain repair in early-stage patients Trials of the drug found it enlarged the brains of MS sufferers, restoring tissue lost through the disease Doctors yesterday hailed a major success in the treatment of multiple...

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Body repair 'could be ramped up'

2009-01-10T09:57:48-08:00

A combination of drugs could trick the body into sending its repair mechanisms into overdrive, say scientists. The technique could be used to speed the healing of heart or bone damage, they claim. The bone marrow of treated mice released 100 times as many stem cells - which help to...

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Biogen shares fall (what a surprise.. NOT)

2009-01-09T08:24:01-08:00

Shares of Biogen Idec Inc. fell Monday after JP Morgan cut its rating on the stock, saying the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri could continue facing challenges in 2009 while the company lacks any catalysts to drive new revenue. Shares fell $1.05, or 2.2 percent, to close at $47.44 after...

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Biogen moves long-acting Avonex to final trial-CEO

2009-01-09T07:57:00-08:00

Biogen Idec Inc has moved a long-acting version of its multiple sclerosis drug, Avonex, into trials designed to meet requirements for regulatory approval, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday. CEO Jim Mullen said during an investor conference being held in New York that the company...

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Oral Multiple Sclerosis Drug More Effective, According to Trial Results

2009-01-09T07:27:27-08:00

Fingolimod, an oral drug under development for treating multiple sclerosis, was shown to be more effective than current treatments in a recent trial. The trial consisted of over 1,200 individuals receiving either fingolimod or Avonex. on average, the people receiving Avonex had 0.33 relapses...

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Sweet Nanoparticle Imaging

2009-01-04T07:53:41-08:00

Sugar-coated nanoparticles aid MRI diagnosis of disease-associated lesions in the brain Glyconanoparticles enable earlier MRI detection of inflamed vessels surrounding multiple sclerosis lesions in a rat brain. University of Oxford researchers have devised sugar-coated nanoparticles...

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CXCL1 Decreases Severity Of Multiple Sclerosis-like Disease (in mice, of course)

2009-01-04T07:54:44-08:00

A group led by Dr. Cedric Raine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have explored the expression of an immune molecule (CXCL1) that interacts with myelin-producing cells, finding that CXCL1 decreases the severity of disease in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). They report their data in...

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Tysabri PML Patient Dies

2009-01-03T11:02:52-08:00

A multiple sclerosis patient treated with natalizumab (Tysabri, Biogen Idec/Élan) monotherapy who contracted progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) earlier this year, has died. The patient, who died December 19 and had been diagnosed in October of this year, was in the United...

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100th

2008-12-28T08:17:04-08:00

As if it wasn't bad enough to have had my first symptom of MS in my birthday, i realized my 100th Rebif injection was on Christmas Day. ffs.

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Meet Lord Talyn

2008-12-31T09:50:09-08:00

... And so, on a cold Winter afternoon, he came. Talyn From the hands of a friend who alerted to the fact this cute feline was going to become an orphan and homeless, Talyn was given a new home. Originally named "Nico", he was instantly renamed to something more... epic. The...

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MS drug may reduce immunity, researchers find

2008-12-23T09:41:18-08:00

A drug used to treat multiple sclerosis might make some patients vulnerable to brain infection by reducing the number of immune cells there, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. The findings also suggest that the drug, natalizumab, might be safer and more effective when...

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Interleukin 17A and F "Not Guilty" For Causing Mulitple Sclerosis?

2008-12-23T09:40:54-08:00

The cause of multiple sclerosis is still very much debated. A team of scientists from Europe have found evidence that one of the most widely held theories on the causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) may just be wrong. An autoimmune disease (like MS) occurs when a person's immune system...

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Cognition Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Memory Results For Phase II Trial Of C105

2008-12-31T09:54:15-08:00

Cognition Pharmaceuticals LLC announced positive results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of C105 (l amphetamine sulfate) on 151 Multiple Sclerosis patients with documented cognitive dysfunction. In the six-week placebo-controlled study, Cognition Pharmaceuticals reported, the active group...

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MS study breakthrough

2008-12-04T06:13:28-08:00

A new study shows that aggressive early treatment of multiple sclerosis could improve a patient's quality of life. Researchers have found that if patients are treated with the drug Betaferon immediately after their first attack of the disease it can slow the progress of MS and even reduce the...

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Researchers discover a viral link to MS

2008-12-03T15:29:22-08:00

Researchers at the University of Queensland may have found a link between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the development of multiple sclerosis. Ninety per cent of people carry EBV virus, but this study shows that those with MS may be unable to control the level of EBV in their...

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Coroner warns of dangers of internet drugs after policewoman overdoses

2008-12-03T15:28:20-08:00

Pc Lynne Manklow, 44, was found dead at her home in Cheltenham, Glos, after taking Orphenadrine, a muscle relaxant intended for the relief of Parkinson's Disease, which is only available on prescription in Britain. The officer, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000, had paid...

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Biotech faces a bitter season - Funding at lowest level in a decade.

2008-12-03T15:22:26-08:00

Biotechnology companies in the United States are raising less cash than they have in a decade, in part because of the global economic crisis. The reductions have led to bankruptcies and threaten development of drugs based on biomedical breakthroughs. In the past month, at least five...

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Vaccine Against Multiple Sclerosis? Mouse Experiment Yields Promising Results

2008-12-03T15:08:49-08:00

Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg have succeeded in vaccinating mice with specially treated, autologous immune cells and preventing them from developing encephalitis, which is similar to multiple sclerosis in humans. A protein...

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Sea anemone venom may help treat multiple sclerosis

2008-12-03T14:49:25-08:00

A component of venom from the Caribbean sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus was found to halt--and may reverse--the paralysis seen in an experimental form of multiple sclerosis. This study was done in 2001 and is featured here as part of my effort to prepare for the upcoming Workshop for...

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Multiple sclerosis seen associated with headache

2008-12-03T14:42:26-08:00

Patients with multiple sclerosis are more apt to suffer from headaches than the general population, results of a study hint. In a "case-control" study, the researchers screened 101 MS patients and 101 controls for headaches. They found that the frequency of headache was higher in the MS...

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Within Temptation - Memories

2008-11-18T08:05:43-08:00

How could i forget Mrs. Sharon den Adel.... shame on me. Get the Flash Player to see this player. JavaScript is also needed to see this player. var s1 = new SWFObject("/www/plugins/serendipity_event_podcast/player/flvplayer.swf","single","450","350","7"); ...

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Multiple Sclerosis 'barometer' reveals wide variation in care across Europe

2008-11-16T11:37:24-08:00

Brussels, 13 November 2008: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in different countries in the Europe face huge variations in provision of treatment and care, according to results from an MS barometer reported at the European parliament. The MS barometer is a benchmarking initiative being...

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In the war against diseases, nerve cells need their armor

2008-11-15T19:19:14-08:00

In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, and the Université de Montréal have discovered an essential mechanism for the maintenance of the normal structure of myelin, the protective covering that insulates and supports nerve cells (neurons). Up...

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Neuron gene linked to multiple sclerosis: study

2008-11-15T19:18:54-08:00

A newly-discovered genetic flaw may lay the nervous system open to assault from the body's own immune system, leading to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published last week. In MS, the immune system attacks myelin, the fatty sheath that protects the cells of the central nervous...

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Leukemia drug creates optimism as treatment for Multiple Sclerosis

2008-11-15T19:13:05-08:00

The drug known as Alemtuzumab, the first monoclonal antibody made for use in humans, may offer new hope in treating early Multiple Sclerosis (MS), even though it was developed and approved for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Alemtuzumab works by seeking out and destroying certain...

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Interferon treatment for MS reduces lesions in about half of patients

2008-11-15T18:58:49-08:00

According to an article published early online and in the January 2009 issue of Archives of Neurology, about half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who are treated with three years of interferon beta are able to achieve and sustain a response as measured by regular magnetic resonance imaging...

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Intraspinal implant of mesenchymal stem cells may not heal the demyelinated spinal cord

2008-11-15T18:57:22-08:00

Therapeutic hope for curing multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases has included the possibility that stem cell transplants could help remyelinate the spinal cord. Accordingly, researchers from the University of Cambridge (UK) conducted experiments using animal models to see if the...

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Rebif - Epic Failure

2008-11-15T18:21:06-08:00

Epic failure reported at injection 83. This wasn't expected. After i press the Rebiject button, i always expect -some- pain. Just 3 seconds or so, and i just bite my tongue and take it. This time, after 82 injections, it REALLY hurt. And i mean.. wow. I took the Rebiject off...

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Cradle of Filth - The Death of Love + some facts

2008-11-15T19:26:13-08:00

It is a pretty known fact that Cradle scares many people. But, keep an open mind and stay with me on this one. Even i felt that Dani Filth was somehow "scary" before seeing them live and tried to find out a bit more about the man behind the lyrics. Dani isn't scary at all. For 2...

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Rebif 44mg #68-#82

2008-11-15T08:24:52-08:00

Even though i have not posted here my Rebif injections, i (obviously) have continued to take them. All at 10mm. The only thing that changed: On my 6 months revision at the hospital (i should do a post about it, *mental note taken*) i complained about the "next-day various pains". What Doctor...

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Biogen confirms third brain infection

2008-11-14T04:36:35-08:00

Biogen Idec confirmed last week that a third patient taking its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri developed the dangerous brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. The biotech company's shares were losing 11% in post-market trading, while its partner on the drug, Elan, was...

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Japan makes first brain tissues from Stem Cells

2008-11-15T07:24:26-08:00

Sufferers of degenerative neurological diseases have new hope. Japanese scientists at the government-backed research institute Riken have created the first functioning human brain tissues from stem cells, a step in curing everything from strokes to multiple sclerosis to paralysis. Even...

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And so it begins...

2008-12-23T09:26:17-08:00

Some say all births are painful. The birth of this new blog is painful due to what made the last one 'vanish' ... this I just can't post anymore in THERE. However, i will update this one with the pending news, rants and 'whatevers'... in time. I took the opportunity to change from...

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