There is no strong evidence to back a licensed cannabis-extract medicine which the Department of Health plans to make available to multiple sclerosis patients next year, according to a study. The drug, Sativex, is used in the treatment of muscle spasms in…
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Medical news service from Penhire
Blog Archives
Gene could be used to treat MS
NEW TREATMENTS for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other auto-immune diseases could flow from an important discovery made by scientists at NUI Maynooth. They were trying to understand the role of a gene called Pellino3 and how it comes into play…
New MS oral drug still not available
A NEW oral drug to treat the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, which has been licensed and deemed cost-effective here, remains unavailable to sufferers. The final stage in the HSE’s process before which it could be prescribed was “neither fair nor…
Safety concerns raised over Novartis oral MS drug
A PATIENT taking Novartis’s Gilenya multiple sclerosis pill contracted a potentially deadly brain infection, adding to safety concerns about the Swiss drugmaker’s most promising potential blockbuster. The incident is the first confirmed case of PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) in a…
MS patients urge Reilly to make drug available
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) patients have called on the Minister for Health James Reilly to make available a new drug which has had a dramatic impact on the chronic illness. Gilenya has been proven to cut by half the number of…
Novartis MS pill loses market share
Novartis AG’s Gilenya multiple sclerosis drug lost market share for the first time in January. The loss of share came after the deaths of some patients in soon after taking the drug, the first pill available for the disease in…
Cannabis-based treatment could be cleared for MS patients
Róisín Shortall, minister for state at the Department of Health: “I am aware that claims have been made in respect of the possible health benefits of cannabis-based medicinal products for patients suffering from certain conditions, such as MS. I am…
UK body rejects Novartis drug
Novartis’s multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya failed for a second time to gain the backing of the UK’s health-cost agency, denting the company’s ambitions to turn the drug into a blockbuster. (Times) >
MS research project at UCD yields some surprising results
In MS, a progressive neurologic condition that affects more than 7,000 people in Ireland, it’s thought the immune system attacks an insulating, fatty sheath around nerve cells called myelin, explains researcher Dr Mark Pickering, a post-doc at UCD’s school of…
New cases of brain disease on Tysabri
Elan recently received European Commission approval to include information on Tysabri packaging warning doctors and patients that carrying specific virus antibodies is a risk factor in contracting PML. People who carry antibodies to the so-called JC virus are more prone to developing…
Drug dilemma for MS patients
FACED WITH a debilitating and progressive disease, would you take a drug to ease the burden even if you knew it might increase your risk of a second illness? That’s the tough choice faced by many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients…
Regulators reverse Fampyra decision
European regulators have recommended approving Acorda Therapeutics Inc’s drug Fampyra, which is designed to improve the walking ability of patients with multiple sclerosis, reversing an earlier decision. The European Medicines Agency, which advises the European Commission on whether to approve…
New cases of PML in Tysabri users
The latest safety update on the Tysabri multiple sclerosis (MS) drug — co-owned by Elan and US pharma Biogen Idec — has found nine new cases of PML, the potentially fatal brain disease and possible side effect of using the…
MS sufferer begs to bring medicinal cannabis on visit
The EU Ombudsman has appealed to the Irish authorities to allow the 35-year-old Galway man, who lives in the Netherlands, to come home to visit his family, and bring his medication with him. The Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros has also asked…
New perspective promises potential MS breakthrough
Discovering why a critical nerve sheathing called myelin deteriorates might be key to curing multiple sclerosis, new research from Galway suggests. A RESEARCH group based in Galway have made an important discovery about multiple sclerosis, something that may lead to…
Letter re new treatment for MS
[Letter to Times >>>] Madam, – As the national organisation providing information and support to the MS community, we share Godfrey Augustt’s interest (October 11th) in chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). Over the years we have witnessed many potential and…
