Swimming in the summertime is one of my favorite activities. There are a lot of reasons that I enjoy going for swims in the summertime, and there are plenty of benefits to swimming for me since I have multiple sclerosis. I try and swim at least three times a week in the summertime since it allows me to choose between a swimming pool and a lake.

The benefits, for me, are both health and social benefits.

Benefit number one

Social interaction is the first reason I love to swim. I'm able to interact with people that are perfectly healthy, and people that have medical conditions like me. Since I'm not able to work any longer I choose to swim to get my source of social interaction.

I have met many new friends swimming at the local swimming pool. Without these friends my life would be more difficult since I would be closed up inside my house. I spend time going out to eat, and just talking with these friends. My new-found friends have given a sense that not all is lost in my life, even though I have multiple sclerosis.

Benefit number two

Strength training is easiest for me to accomplish through swimming. While I enjoy other strength training exercises like cycling, scuba diving, and walking, swimming is the easiest on my body. I'm able to build strength in my arms and legs through this one healthy exercise. The strength training of swimming comes from the motions in swinging my arms and kicking my legs.

Before I got back into swimming I had to use a walker to get around. Since I started strength training through swimming I have regained my strength and am now able to walk freely. I no longer require the use of a walker or a cane on a daily basis. There are times that my multiple sclerosis is so bad, though, I do use my cane to get around.

Benefit number three

It is easy to become relaxed while swimming. With my multiple sclerosis, high levels of stress are not good for me. High levels of stress can lead me to a relapse in my multiple sclerosis. This is another reason I love to swim. Swimming allows me to relax, therefore bringing down my stress level.

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Top Five Ways Swimming is Beneficial to People With Multiple Sclerosis

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Genzyme, a Sanofi company (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today that 12 data presentations, including six platform presentations, from the companys multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trial programs for alemtuzumab and teriflunomide will be featured at the American Academy of Neurology's (AAN) 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La., April 21-28. Presentations will include full data results from CARE-MS II (The Comparison of alemtuzumab and Rebif Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis), a Phase III trial investigating alemtuzumab in MS patients who had relapsed while receiving prior MS therapy, as well as new findings from the teriflunomide clinical program, one of the largest and broadest of any MS therapy in development.

Genzymes robust development programs for alemtuzumab and teriflunomide were designed to understand how these therapies can best address significant unmet medical needs of people living with MS, said David Meeker, M.D., President and CEO, Genzyme. We are committed to becoming a long-term partner to the MS community with the goal of raising the expectation of what life with MS can be.

Marketing applications for teriflunomide for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS are under review by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). Genzyme is on track to submit applications to the FDA and EMA for approval of alemtuzumab to treat relapsing forms of MS in the second quarter of this year.

Following are selected scientific abstracts highlighting new results from the Phase III CARE-MS II and CARE-MS I trials for alemtuzumab, as well as the Phase III TEMSO (Study of Teriflunomide in Reducing the Frequency of Relapses and Accumulation of Disability in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis) trial for teriflunomide.

ALEMTUZUMAB CARE-MS II Platform Presentation:

ALEMTUZUMAB CARE-MS I Platform Presentations:

TERIFLUNOMIDE TEMSO Platform Presentation:

Additional Genzyme MS portfolio data to be presented include:

ALEMTUZUMAB:

See the article here:
Genzyme Demonstrates Depth of MS Pipeline at AAN with Results from Multiple Sclerosis Phase lll Trials

Written by Lyndsey Sager Wednesday, 28 March 2012 20:27

Danielle Flowers, sophomore fashion design major, does the model's make up behind the scenes of the Multiple Sclerosis Benefit Fashion Show, March 28. Photo by Chelsae Ketchum.

The Exquisite Inc. Modeling Troupe raised $500 for Multiple Sclerosis research at the fourth annual MS Benefit Fashion Show Wednesday night.

The theme of the show was eccentric sensation, which includes styles similar to Lady Gaga, said Jazmine Woods, freshman news major and Exquisite model.

The show, which took place in the Student Center Ballroom, included collections from six designers and dances from AFOE and Legacy, two dance teams at Kent State.

Tickets were $5 in advance, or $10 at the door. All proceeds went to the Kym Sellers Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis.

We dont get 10 percent or 5 percent, Woods said. Absolutely all of the money will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

Cory Froomkin, junior broadcast journalism major, hosted the event.

This is the type of stuff I kind of want to do one day, Froomkin said. I know when I anchor one day, Ill have to do stuff like this so its good practice.

Diamond Towns, junior marketing major and Exquisite president, said Exquisite Inc. also hosts a Fall into Fashion show during fall semester.

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‘Eccentric sensation’ fashion show raises money for Multiple Sclerosis research

DARTMOUTH Hundreds of people from Dartmouth and surrounding communities are coming together Sunday, April 1, for Walk MS, presented by Biogen Idec & lan, to help individuals and families address the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis. Organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the three-mile route starts and finishes at Dartmouth Middle School, 366 Slocum Road.

Check-in opens at 9 a.m., and the official start is 10 a.m. Walk MS is a fundraising event that provides MS education, support, advocacy, and services to people affected by multiple sclerosis, while it supports cutting-edge research and treatment to stop disease progression, restore function lost, and end MS for future generations.

Each walker, 12-years-old and above, is required to raise at least $25. T shirts are awarded for at least $100 in fundraising, but historically walkers easily average above $200. Family members and coworkers are encouraged to form teams who walk and fundraise together in support of a loved one with MS.

Teams and individual walkers can register online, http://www.walkMSgne.org, to take advantage of e fundraising tools. Registrations are also accepted by phone, 1-800-344-4867 opt. 2, and in-person on walk day. Volunteers are also needed. Send questions about walking, fundraising, or volunteering to walkMSgne@nmss.org.

Donations in support of walkers and teams may be made online, at walkMSgne.org. Click on 'Donate', select "Massachusetts, Dartmouth 'Donate/ePledge'", and enter the individual or team you want to support.

Of the many sponsors that make Walk MS possible each year, their most loyal and generous are Biogen Idec & lan, EMD Serono & Pfizer, Bernie & Phyl's Furniture, Data Associates, Patients Like Me, WCVB TV5, Honest Tea, and Pure Protein. Visit http://www.walkMSgne.org for details.

Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn about your options by talking to your health care professional and contacting the National MS Society at nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800-FIGHT-MS (344-4867).

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Dartmouth walks toward a world free of Multiple Sclerosis

Ashley Carson was among the top 3,000 finishers out of the 5,000 in Savannah's Rock 'N' Roll Marathon in November.

Earlier this month, the 28-year-old trimmed her time to less than an hour in the Tybee Run Fest 10K. She also ran in the Jingle Bell 5K in 2009 and the Hilton Head Island half marathon in February 2011.

Carson's accomplishments as a runner aren't record breaking, but they are significant for someone who has been fighting multiple sclerosis since 2005.

"Some days I can run a marathon and others I do good just to get out of bed," Carson said.

Carson, a Hilton Head Island resident, is training for the three-day, 50-mile Challenge Walk MS: Charleston Challenge, which raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure yet. The 2012 event is March 2-4 from historic Charleston to the Isle of Palms.

She started running just before her senior year of college to lose weight. "While running I started noticing some weird things going on with my body," Carson recalled. "When I bent my neck to look down to tie my shoe, I felt an electrical shock from my spine into my leg and a lot of numbness and tingling. I felt like I was going to fall."

It continued with what she describes as a sensation of fireworks in her body. "My symptoms started with the tingling," Carson said. "And there was weakness and very minor balance issues. I had achy leg pain and fatigue, which are very common factors with MS, and I deal with this on a daily basis."

Her official diagnosis came the day before she began her senior year, studying athletic training at Lees-McCrae College in Banner Elk, N.C.

The diagnosis didn't stop her from 2 1/2 more years to obtain her graduate degree in occupational therapy.

Today, she is inspired by her patients. She is an occupational therapist at Coastal Carolina Hospital, where she works with adults, and at the Hilton Pediatric Rehab Outpatient clinics on Hilton Head and in Bluffton, where she works with children.

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Multiple sclerosis won't slow down Hilton Head woman

By Dr. Mark Tullman stltoday.com | Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 5:45 am | (Loading) comments.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease that affects the brain, nerves that connect the eyes to the brain, and spinal cord. Approximately 400,000 people in the U.S. have MS, which typically begins between the ages of 20 and 40 and is the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in young adults.

2011 was a remarkable year in MS. Here's a glimpse at some of the latest discoveries:

Twenty-nine new genes that influence the risk of developing MS were identified.

New criteria were established that allow for an earlier MS diagnosis.

Researchers found that higher vitamin D levels in people with MS are associated with fewer new brain MRI lesions. * Another study concluded vitamin D supplementation in combination with interferon (an MS medication) may be more effective than interferon alone. Studies are ongoing to conclusively determine if vitamin D supplementation is beneficial in MS.

Research suggests individuals with MS who smoke may be more likely to develop disability. People with MS who smoke should definitely try to stop.

In 2008, a vascular surgeon, Dr. Paolo Zamboni, coined the phrase chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) to describe a state of impaired drainage of blood from the brain and spinal cord due to narrow veins in people with MS.

He has speculated CCSVI might contribute to the cause of MS and surgery to improve blood flow might be a treatment for MS. Numerous studies in the past year have yielded conflicting results regarding the frequency of CCSVI in MS.

Some revealed no evidence of CCSVI while others reported CCSVI in healthy individuals. Research is ongoing to determine if CCSVI is related to MS. If an association is confirmed, a study to determine if surgical treatment of blocked veins is safe and effective should begin later this year.

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HOUSE CALL: Raising hope: The future of Multiple Sclerosis

Real life experiences with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) featuring Nicole Lemelle.

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Life After MS (Multiple Sclerosis)

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.

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Multiple Sclerosis - The Nebraska Medical Center

This touching mini documentary is about Dan Powell, an art professor at University of Oregon who is living with MS. We interviewed him and his wife about what they go though to try to keep a normal life.

Excerpt from:
Living With Multiple Sclerosis

A short video about Living with MS. A little bit about me, I have Secondary Progressive MS, I'm 40yrs young and live in the UK. This video also show's a little insight to what people with Multiple Sclerosis have to deal with every day.

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Living with MS - Multiple Sclerosis

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Living with Multiple Sclerosis - Having a Social Life

Yesterday I had another ms relapse.

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Multiple Sclerosis: ms relapse

Multiple Sclerosis Walk

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Multiple Sclerosis Walk

Update from Tricia September 17, 2008: Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words! When I hear how my story has touched people around the world, I can't believe it! When the National MS Society put together and posted the video, I was shocked at the response. Now, three years later, people are still watching it, forwarding it and commenting on it - wow! My son Jake will be 15 this year, he still loves playing baseball and is a freshman in High School

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Tricia's Story of Multiple Sclerosis

30-06-2012 14:27 The 5th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) - Asia Pacific Life Course Related Conditions Debate: Venous obstruction is of primary importance in MS pathogenesis - YES MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TREATMENT October 14, 2011 11:10 | Length: 17:14 min Presenter: J. Kotowitcz

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Venous obstruction is of primary importance in MS pathogenesis - YES (CONy 2012) - Video

The symptoms of MS take many different forms and strike without warning.

Excerpt from:
Multiple Sclerosis - SABOTEUR

NEW ADVICE THE HELL FEATURING MEGHAN TONJES! jpmetz.com FEATURING http://www.youtube.com SUBSCRIBE to my damn podcast on itunes! itunes.apple.com the ANNOYING survey I'd appreciate if you fill out! jpmetz.com FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com TWITTER http://www.twitter.com T-SHIRTS http://www.districtlines.com

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multiple sclerosis fail

ScienceDaily (June 28, 2012) Mayo Clinic researchers have successfully used smaller, folded DNA molecules to stimulate regeneration and repair of nerve coatings in mice that mimic multiple sclerosis (MS). They say the finding, published June 28 in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests new possible therapies for MS patients.

"The problem has been to find a way to encourage the nervous system to regenerate its own myelin (the coating on the nerves) so nerve cells can recover from an MS attack," says L. James Maher III, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic biochemist and senior author on the paper. "We show here that these small molecules, called aptamers, can stimulate repair in the mice we are studying."

More than 200,000 people have multiple sclerosis. There is no cure and no effective therapy to stop progression or repair damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds and protects the nerves. Without that protection, nerve fibers will be damaged, leading to declining mobility and cognitive function, and other debilitating complications.

MS researchers, including Mayo neurologist Moses Rodriguez, M.D., a co-author on this paper, have focused on monoclonal antibodies in mice to stimulate myelin repair. The Rodriguez and Maher teams, working together, have determined that the aptamers are not only effective, but they are easy and cheap to synthesize -- an important point for drug developers. They also are stable and not likely to cause an immune response. This new approach must be validated in other mouse models to see if it might be a candidate for human clinical trials.

The monoclonal antibodies used in earlier research are large and complex, but were shown to promote both cell signaling and remyelination of central nervous system lesions in mice. The aptamers used in this study are less than one-tenth the size of antibodies and are single-strands of DNA containing only 40 nucleotide units.

The research was supported by Mayo Clinic and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Co-authors include Branislav Nastasijevic, Brent Wright, Ph.D., John Smestad, and Arthur Warrington, Ph.D., all of Mayo Clinic.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.

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New approach to reverse multiple sclerosis in mice models

Mayo Clinic researchers have successfully used smaller, folded DNA molecules to stimulate regeneration and repair of nerve coatings in mice that mimic multiple sclerosis (MS). They say the finding, published today in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests new possible therapies for MS patients.

"The problem has been to find a way to encourage the nervous system to regenerate its own myelin (the coating on the nerves) so nerve cells can recover from an MS attack," says L. James Maher III, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic biochemist and senior author on the paper. "We show here that these small molecules, called aptamers, can stimulate repair in the mice we are studying."

More than 200,000 people have multiple sclerosis. There is no cure and no effective therapy to stop progression or repair damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds and protects the nerves. Without that protection, nerve fibers will be damaged, leading to declining mobility and cognitive function, and other debilitating complications.

MS researchers, including Mayo neurologist Moses Rodriguez, M.D., a co-author on this paper, have focused on monoclonal antibodies in mice to stimulate myelin repair. The Rodriguez and Maher teams, working together, have determined that the aptamers are not only effective, but they are easy and cheap to synthesize an important point for drug developers. They also are stable and not likely to cause an immune response. This new approach must be validated in other mouse models to see if it might be a candidate for human clinical trials.

The monoclonal antibodies used in earlier research are large and complex, but were shown to promote both cell signaling and remyelination of central nervous system lesions in mice. The aptamers used in this study are less than one-tenth the size of antibodies and are single-strands of DNA containing only 40 nucleotide units.

The research was supported by Mayo Clinic and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Co-authors include Branislav Nastasijevic, Brent Wright, Ph.D., John Smestad, and Arthur Warrington, Ph.D., all of Mayo Clinic.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic

Originally posted here:
Mayo Clinic Uses New Approach To Reverse Multiple Sclerosis In Mice Models

WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love (http://www.evaandestela.com), a local, family-owned business, today announced the launch of its line of t-shirts and family apparel designed to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis.

Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love is the entrepreneurial endeavor of Kristen Sitarski-Munoz of Williamstown, NJ. In 2010, Sitarski-Munoz and her husband Ryan faced the simultaneous struggle of job losses and Ryans diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Determined to overcome both challenges with courage and determination, Sitarski-Munoz created Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love, which is named for the couples two young daughters. The organization designs and sells t-shirts with the messages of family, hope, and love. Five percent of the proceeds will go directly to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, approximately 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis, a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. Each week, about 200 more people are diagnosed with the disease.

Through the strength of our family unit, we were able to confront the challenges of multiple sclerosis and financial hardships with courage and determination, said Kristen Sitarski-Munoz, Founder & CEO of Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love. The result is Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love, which serves as a reminder to all families to support each other, celebrate each other, and most importantly, Wear Ur Love.

Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love currently offers five lines of t-shirts for infants, children and adults, including: Boys Club Tee, Family Words Design, Girls Club Tee, Heart/Key Tee Design, and the XO Design.

Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love

Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love is a growing, family-owned t-shirt and apparel business created to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis. Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love is the entrepreneurial endeavor of Kristen Sitarski-Munoz of Williamstown, NJ. Sitarski-Munoz and her husband Ryan faced the simultaneous struggle of job losses and Ryans diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Determined to overcome both challenges with courage and determination, Sitarski-Munoz created Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love in honor of the couples two young daughters. The organization designs and sells t-shirts with the messages of family, hope, and love. Five percent of the proceeds go directly to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. For more information on Eva & Estela Wear Ur Love, please visit: http://www.evaandestela.com.

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Local Entrepreneur Mom Launches Family Apparel Business to Raise Awareness for Multiple Sclerosis