sclerosis

Christina Applegate said she “blacked out” during her rare public appearance at the Emmys earlier this year in a new interview with Good Morning America about her battle with multiple sclerosis. The full interview airs tomorrow, March 12, but in a preview clip, Applegate expressed gratitude for the copious support she’s received since being diagnosed with MS in 2021. But, she remained brutally honest about what life with MS is really like.  “I live kind of in hell,” she said. “I’m not out a lot, so this is,…

Epstein-Barr virus, a common virus that infects most people at some point in their lives, has long been suspected as a trigger of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease affecting around 36 people in every 100,000 worldwide.But exactly how this virus trips the immune system into attacking the body's own cells, often years later, has mostly eluded scientists.Now researchers at the University of Texas have edged one step closer to showing how the virus sets off immune cells in the early stages of MS, when the first…

The secrets of our ancestors might hold the key to why multiple sclerosis (MS) is more common among white, northern Europeans than among Europe's more southern populations.While scientists have found hundreds of genes to date that are associated with MS, up to a fifth of northern Europeans have a genetic variant, called HLA-DRB1*15:01, that conveys a threefold higher risk of developing the autoimmune disease.Where this variant came from and why it persisted and spread is a mystery.An international team of researchers,…

More than 1,600 ancient genomes have helped to trace the roots of a host of genetic traits found in modern Europeans. The genomes suggest that many characteristics — including a heightened risk for multiple sclerosis — were carried to Europe by people who migrated to the continent in three distinct waves starting around 45,000 years ago.These results and others were published today in four related papers in Nature.The findings provide evidence that some of the regional variation in certain traits was caused by differences…

DNA from ancient humans is providing some vital clues about the emergence of multiple sclerosis and other devastating neurodegenerative conditions. In a series of new research papers out this week, scientists detail evidence that many genetic variants linked to MS first began to spread globally about 5,000 years ago, from populations living in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. These variations likely protected people at the time from infectious diseases but now might explain why those native to Northwestern Europe have…

Over the last decade, several case studies have reported that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who started antiretroviral therapy for HIV (to keep the virus in check) subsequently found that their MS symptoms had either disappeared completely or the disease progression had slowed considerably.These findings compelled researchers to ask whether HIV or antiretrovirals could influence the risk of developing MS. According to our latest study, published in Annals of Neurology, the answer is yes.It's very difficult to be…

A groundbreaking study reveals a novel molecular link between vitamin B12 and multiple sclerosis (MS), focusing on astrocytes in the brain. The research demonstrates that fingolimod, an FDA-approved MS drug, can regulate B12 communication pathways, highlighting the potential for B12 supplementation in MS treatment. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Findings identify molecular signaling pathway that could enhance current MS treatments. For decades, scientists have noted an intriguing similarity between a deficiency in vitamin B12…

Over 2 million people globally have multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to problems moving, seeing and thinking.While there are treatments that can help reduce the number and severity of MS attacks, many people with MS eventually develop a more severe form of the disease called secondary progressive MS.Unfortunately, there are few treatments for secondary progressive MS. And there are no drugs approved for the most advanced forms of disease.Recent data has raised expectations…

Research published this week describes a promising start to using stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis. In a small Phase I trial, patients who had stem cells directly injected into their brain appeared to tolerate it well and experienced no serious adverse effects. The treatment may have also stopped or slowed the progression of their symptoms, the scientists say, but larger studies will be needed to confirm its effectiveness.“Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police” | AI UnlockedMultiple sclerosis is an autoimmune…

Scientists have used MRI scans to document the brain repair effects of clemastine, an antihistamine, in MS patients. This innovative method measures the myelin water fraction and offers imaging-based evidence of myelin restoration, a process that continued after drug discontinuation.Research led by UCSF has pinpointed a hallmark of disease repair that could be utilized in the development of future therapies.Ten years following the discovery of a common antihistamine, clemastine, as a potential treatment for multiple…