Tuula Tyry, PhD, MAED,
NARCOMS Program Manager
Introduction
As of March 2005 the total number of participants enrolled in the NARCOMS MS Patient Registry was well over 30,000 (see Figure 1). The spring 2005 update survey is scheduled to be sent by mail or via a secure Web site to over 22,000 active participants in early April. Hopefully [...]

Sandra Schmidt Leach, BSN, MA––Arizona;Trent Maruyama, OTR/L––St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona;
Denise I. Campagnolo, MD, MS––Barrow Neurological Clinic, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona
Introduction
Fatigue is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). As many of you know, it is often very difficult to deal with this symptom. Although many drug therapies [...]

Allen Bowling, MD, PhD––Rocky Mountain MS Center, Denver, Colorado; Thomas Stewart, JD, MS, PA-C––Rocky Mountain MS Center, Denver, Colorado
Introduction
Although reliable general nutritional information sources, such as the well-known Food Pyramid, are relatively easy to find, it is not as easy to find reliable information regarding MS-specific strategies. Some sources, including some written by mainstream multiple [...]

Silva Markovic-Plese, MD—Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
North Carolina School of Medicine, North Carolina
Introduction
The recent expansion in our understanding of the development of the disease in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has allowed therapies to be designed with ever-greater specificity. Some of these medications are even able to target interactions between [...]

A new University of Florida study has found that lifting weights can improve muscle strength and quality of life for people afflicted with MS.
According to Lesley White, a professor in the department of applied physiology and kinesiology at University of Florida and the study’s lead author, this is the first published report using a [...]

A study published in the January 2005 issue of Cochrane Database System Reviews by M.B. Rietberg and colleagues assessed the effectiveness of exercise therapy for patients with MS in terms of activities of daily living and health-related quality of life. According to the authors, no intervention has proven effective in modifying long-term disease prognosis in [...]

According to a study published in the January 2005 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association exposure to an infant sibling in the first 6 years of life was associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) among 408 people studied in Tasmania, Australia. A history of exposure to infants was also associated [...]

FDA is issuing this public health advisory to inform patients and health care providers about the suspended marketing of Tysabri (natalizumab) due to two serious adverse events reported with its use.

Location: All North American clinical trial sites originally involved in the study.
Purpose: To determine the long-term effects of Betaseron on multiple sclerosis in comparison to patients who did not get Betaseron.

A 24-week, Randomized, Double Blind, Parallel-Group, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Finding, Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy Study of the Human Anti-IL-12 Antibody ABT-874 in Subjects With Multiple Sclerosis with a 24- week Double Blind Active Extension Phase

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. is seeking up to 150 eligible patients at approximately 25 centers in North America to participate in a study to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and tolerability of a new study drug to treat relapsing forms of MS.

Location: Multi-centers throughout the US and Canada
Purpose: A phase IV study to compare the total number of relapses experienced by patients randomized to maintain treatment on high dose INF therapy compared to those who were transferred to Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate) in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Location: University Hospital and Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY; Rochester, NY; Buffalo, NY; Rhode Island
Purpose: This study will examine the effectiveness of the drug donepezil and of sugar water for enhancing memory in individuals with MS. Donepezil (also known as Aricept®) has been FDA approved for improving memory and learning in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

Location: Four centers in the US and Canada
Purpose: To assess the safety of BHT-3009 alone or combined with atorvastatin (Lipitor®) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and to determine the effect of treatment on immune response.

Location: Multi-centers in the US
Purpose: This study will test the safety and efficacy of an investigational medication in the treatment of patients with MS suffering from pseudobulbar affect (a condition characterized by frequent episodes of uncontrollable laughing and crying that are out of proportion with the underlying emotion; also called excessive emotionalism or emotional lability).

Location: Multi-centers in the US
Purpose: The primary objective of the study is to assess the clinical efficacy of Rebif 44 mcg three times per week compared with Copaxone 20 mg daily in patients with relapsing MS.

Location: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether raising low levels of the natural antioxidant uric acid by the administration of a precursor, inosine, has any therapeutic effect on the progression of RRMS and secondary progressive MS.

Location: Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Purpose: To determine the effects of Copaxone alone compared to Copaxone plus albuterol in persons with MS.

Location: National study sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), based in Bethesda, MD
Purpose: To examine the safety and effectiveness of Zenapax (a laboratorymanufactured antibody) in treating MS.

Location: Phoenix, AZ
Purpose: To determine how immune responses change over time after glatiramer acetate (Copaxone) treatment has been terminated.