Category: Latest News

The entire staff at MSAA is greatly saddened to learn of the recent death of Dr. John F. Kurtzke, a highly accomplished expert in the field of multiple sclerosis research. Dr. Kurtzke was a neuroepidemiologist (a doctor who specializes in researching the development and treatment of neurological diseases) and Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University. He is best known by the MS community for his work in creating the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale, a vital evaluative tool used by neurologists to determine a patient’s physical status and level of ability. This scale is critical in evaluating disease progression over time, as well as determining the effectiveness of approved and experimental treatments for MS.

The annual meeting of ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) 31st congress took place on October 7-10, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. Established in 1984, ECTRIMS is a European professional organization dedicated to understanding the cause and pathophysiology of MS and to the development of new treatments. Each year, ECTRIMS hosts the world’s largest annual international conference devoted to basic and clinical research in multiple sclerosis.

On Tuesday October 27, Wines ‘Til Sold Out (WTSO.com) will hold an online wine sale from 8 AM – 8 PM ET where $1 from every bottle sold will go to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA). The donation is in support of the many free programs and services provided to the multiple sclerosis (MS) community.

Genentech announced today that ocrelizumab, an investigational medicine for the long-term treatment of relapsing forms of MS, has also shown positive study results in their Phase III ORATORIO study with primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). This is the first medication to show positive effects on disability with this form of the disease, which affects approximately 10 percent of the MS population.

On September 25, 2015, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Betaconnect, an electronic autoinjector for use with Betaseron® (interferon beta-1b), an approved disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Although other autoinjectors are available to help with the administration of self-injected medications, this is the first electronic autoinjector to be approved by the FDA for a medication used in the long-term treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).

MSAA’s free mobile phone app, My MS Manager™ has been recognized as one of the top multiple sclerosis iPhone and Android apps of 2015 by Healthline.com. Healthline’s editors selected this year’s winners based on quality, usability, and contribution to the MS community.

MSAA’s My Health Insurance Guide was selected as a Merit Award winner in the 17th annual Digital Health Awards. This program honors the world’s best digital health resources. My Health Insurance Guide is a dedicated section of MSAA’s website that provides comprehensive information on today’s health insurance topics specifically for the multiple sclerosis community.

The member organizations of the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition (MSC) congratulate the House on the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act – #Cures2015. The MSC specifically applauds the inclusion of H.R. 292 as a provision of the Act, the goal of which is to establish a data system to track the incidence and prevalence of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis.

The 29th Annual Meeting of The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) took place in late May in Indianapolis, Indiana. This meeting is the largest and most comprehensive conference on multiple sclerosis (MS) care and research in North America, bringing researchers and clinicians from across the spectrum of MS care together to share and discuss the latest research findings in MS. This multidisciplinary approach, which includes the perspectives of physicians, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists, rehabilitation specialists, and advocacy professionals, is unique and ensures that the impact of MS on the whole person is considered.

Positive Phase III trial results were announced yesterday (June 30, 2015) for the experimental medication ocrelizumab, a monoclonal antibody presently being studied for the treatment of different forms of MS. According to a press release issued by Genentech and its parent company Roche, ocrelizumab met both the primary and major secondary endpoints in the Phase III, OPERA I and OPERA II studies.