Pregnancy Hormone Key To Repairing Nerve Cell Damage

Science Daily — The mystery of why multiple sclerosis (MS) tends to go into remission while women are pregnant may be the secret to overcoming the devastating neurodegenerative disease, according to University of Calgary researchers who have shown that a pregnancy-related hormone is responsible for rebuilding the protective coating around nerve cells.
Dr. Samuel Weiss and Calgary multiple sclerosis patient Diane Rogers examine microscopic details of the myelin sheath which surrounds and protects nerves. MS is a neuro-degenerative disease where the body's own immune system attacks the myelin, leading to progressive loss of sensation and movement. (Credit: Photo by Ken Bendiktsen)

In a paper to be published in the February 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, a team of researchers from the U of C's Faculty of Medicine reports that a study conducted on mice found that the hormone prolactin encourages the spontaneous production of myelin, the fatty substance that coats nerve cells and plays a critical role in transmitting messages in the central nervous system. A collaboration between the laboratories of Drs. Samuel Weiss and V. Wee Yong of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the study is the first to determine that prolactin, which increases in the body during pregnancy, is directly responsible for the formation of new myelin in the brains and spinal cords of pregnant mice. Further, when non-pregnant mice with MS-like lesions were injected with prolactin, their myelin was also repaired.

The research was based on evidence that MS, which is more common in women than men, goes into remission when women become pregnant. MS is a neurodegenerative disease where the body's own immune system attacks the myelin surrounding nerves, leading to progressive loss of sensation and movement. MS affects approximately 2.5 million people worldwide and Canadians have one of the highest rates of the disease in the world.

"It is thought that during pregnancy, women's immune systems no longer destroyed the myelin," said Weiss, director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and senior author of the study. "However, no previous study has tested whether pregnancy actually results in the production of new myelin, which may lead to improvement of symptoms." The paper's findings represent the first example of a natural, biological mechanism that produces new myelin in the adult brain and spinal cord and identifies prolactin as a potential therapeutic substance for future testing in people with MS.

"Agents promoting remyelination will be beneficial not only for typical demyelinating diseases like MS," says Dr. Fred (Rusty) Gage, of the Salk Institute, "but also for many other neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injuries and stroke." Gage, an international leader in nervous system repair, was not involved in this study.

Subsequent tests of prolactin in animal models of MS will be required before testing of prolactin on humans can take place, but MS researchers are hopeful human trials can take place within the next several years.

"This discovery has the potential to take MS therapy a step further than current treatments that stabilize the disease in its early stages. By promoting repair, which is the goal of prolactin therapy, we have hope of actually improving symptoms in people with MS," says Dr. Luanne Metz, director of the Calgary MS Clinic in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary and Calgary Health Region.

The study, authored by Weiss, Christopher Gregg, Viktor Shikar, Peter Larsen, Gloria Mak, Andrew Chojnacki and Yong, compared pregnant and virgin female mice of the same age and found that pregnant mice had twice as many myelin-producing cells, called oligodendrocytes, and continued to generate new ones during pregnancy. By chemically destroying myelin around nerve cells, the researchers found that pregnant mice had twice as much new myelin two weeks following the damage as virgin mice and that introducing prolactin mimicked the effects of pregnancy on myelin production and repair in mice that weren't pregnant.

"The results of this study should be well received by people living with MS today," said Dr. William McIlroy, national medical advisor for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. "It represents a new insight of how we might be able to reverse some of the effects of the disease and improve the quality of life for those who live under its influence."

The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, with the support of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Stem Cell Network.

The journal article "White matter plasticity and enhanced remyelination in the maternal CNS" will be published in the Feb. 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The journal is published by the Society for Neuroscience, an organization of more than 36,500 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Calgary.

Pregnancy Hormone Key To Repairing Nerve Cell Damage

Science Daily — The mystery of why multiple sclerosis (MS) tends to go into remission while women are pregnant may be the secret to overcoming the devastating neurodegenerative disease, according to University of Calgary researchers who have shown that a pregnancy-related hormone is responsible for rebuilding the protective coating around nerve cells.
Dr. Samuel Weiss and Calgary multiple sclerosis patient Diane Rogers examine microscopic details of the myelin sheath which surrounds and protects nerves. MS is a neuro-degenerative disease where the body's own immune system attacks the myelin, leading to progressive loss of sensation and movement. (Credit: Photo by Ken Bendiktsen)

In a paper to be published in the February 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, a team of researchers from the U of C's Faculty of Medicine reports that a study conducted on mice found that the hormone prolactin encourages the spontaneous production of myelin, the fatty substance that coats nerve cells and plays a critical role in transmitting messages in the central nervous system. A collaboration between the laboratories of Drs. Samuel Weiss and V. Wee Yong of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the study is the first to determine that prolactin, which increases in the body during pregnancy, is directly responsible for the formation of new myelin in the brains and spinal cords of pregnant mice. Further, when non-pregnant mice with MS-like lesions were injected with prolactin, their myelin was also repaired.

The research was based on evidence that MS, which is more common in women than men, goes into remission when women become pregnant. MS is a neurodegenerative disease where the body's own immune system attacks the myelin surrounding nerves, leading to progressive loss of sensation and movement. MS affects approximately 2.5 million people worldwide and Canadians have one of the highest rates of the disease in the world.

"It is thought that during pregnancy, women's immune systems no longer destroyed the myelin," said Weiss, director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and senior author of the study. "However, no previous study has tested whether pregnancy actually results in the production of new myelin, which may lead to improvement of symptoms." The paper's findings represent the first example of a natural, biological mechanism that produces new myelin in the adult brain and spinal cord and identifies prolactin as a potential therapeutic substance for future testing in people with MS.

"Agents promoting remyelination will be beneficial not only for typical demyelinating diseases like MS," says Dr. Fred (Rusty) Gage, of the Salk Institute, "but also for many other neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injuries and stroke." Gage, an international leader in nervous system repair, was not involved in this study.

Subsequent tests of prolactin in animal models of MS will be required before testing of prolactin on humans can take place, but MS researchers are hopeful human trials can take place within the next several years.

"This discovery has the potential to take MS therapy a step further than current treatments that stabilize the disease in its early stages. By promoting repair, which is the goal of prolactin therapy, we have hope of actually improving symptoms in people with MS," says Dr. Luanne Metz, director of the Calgary MS Clinic in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary and Calgary Health Region.

The study, authored by Weiss, Christopher Gregg, Viktor Shikar, Peter Larsen, Gloria Mak, Andrew Chojnacki and Yong, compared pregnant and virgin female mice of the same age and found that pregnant mice had twice as many myelin-producing cells, called oligodendrocytes, and continued to generate new ones during pregnancy. By chemically destroying myelin around nerve cells, the researchers found that pregnant mice had twice as much new myelin two weeks following the damage as virgin mice and that introducing prolactin mimicked the effects of pregnancy on myelin production and repair in mice that weren't pregnant.

"The results of this study should be well received by people living with MS today," said Dr. William McIlroy, national medical advisor for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. "It represents a new insight of how we might be able to reverse some of the effects of the disease and improve the quality of life for those who live under its influence."

The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, with the support of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Stem Cell Network.

The journal article "White matter plasticity and enhanced remyelination in the maternal CNS" will be published in the Feb. 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The journal is published by the Society for Neuroscience, an organization of more than 36,500 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Calgary.

Patient Advocates with Multiple Sclerosis Fund Clinical Trial of Promising Drug (LDN)

Over the last decade, anecdotal reports suggested that a very low dose of an FDA-approved drug called naltrexone provides effective symptom relief for many patients who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis. Frustrated by the lack of scientific research, volunteers began raising money to fund a human clinical trial of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for MS. This effort culminated in awarding a $25,000 gift to the University of California, San Francisco Multiple Sclerosis Research Center.

Seattle, WA (LDNers.org) January 23, 2007 - Naltrexone was approved by the FDA 20 years ago for treating addiction, but researchers at Penn State University discovered its ability to normalize a dysfunctional immune system when used in very low doses. Dr Bernard Bihari, a Harvard trained neurologist in New York City, observed positive results in his patients using LDN for MS and other immune system disorders. His observations were published at www.ldninfo.org, which is where an MS patient named SammyJo Wilkinson learned of it.

Wilkinson was diagnosed with MS in 1995 at age 30. For years she used the injectable drugs approved by the FDA for MS but to no avail; the disease progressed to walking with a cane, and she had to give up her technology career. By the end of 2003, she was falling so often that a motorized wheelchair was on order.

“In February of 2004 I took my first 4.5 mg capsule” recalls Wilkinson, “and I have recovered without setbacks ever since.” In 2005 she attended the 1st LDN Conference, and in conjunction with other patient advocates including the nonprofit Accelerated Cure Project for MS, formed a committee to raise funds to stimulate research for LDN treatment of MS. Because naltrexone is an inexpensive generic drug, the concern was that there would be little commercial interest in research, so they felt it was up to patients themselves to lead the way. In addition to Wilkinson, this committee also consisted of Robert Lester and Art Mellor.

They set up a website, www.LDNers.org, and received enthusiastic support from other patients who had benefited from LDN. The culmination of the fundraising effort was a gala benefit in California attended by over 250. The organizer, Vicky Finlayson, had experienced an amazing recovery from 10 years of painful MS attacks after taking LDN, and felt passionately about funding the research, so that others with MS could gain the relief she had.

Following the benefit, $25,000 had been raised, and word arrived that the UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Center was interested in conducting the first human trial in the US, to measure the impact of LDN on MS. The funds were donated to UCSF, and a 3 month double-blind crossover trial involving 80 patients is expected to start this Spring.

Contact:SammyJo Wilkinson
www.LDNers.org
425-971-5884

About UCSF MS Center

The Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California serves the MS community of Northern California through a commitment to providing the highest standard of integrated patient care, innovative basic science and clinical research, and education. The UCSF MS center cares for approximately 3,500 patients who suffer from MS and provides consultation for many more patients who geographically are unable to receive continuity of care in San Francisco. The MS Center is committed to developing improved therapies for MS through clinical trials as well as basic science research oriented at understanding why patients develop MS and uncovering novel therapeutic strategies. For more information about the UCSF MS Center please visit the website: http://www.ucsf.edu/msc/index.html

About Accelerated Cure Project for MSAccelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis, www.acceleratedcure.org, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to curing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by determining its causes. Accelerated Cure Project believes this effort can be accelerated by organizing the research process and encouraging collaboration between research organizations and clinicians. A "Cure Map" is currently being developed by Accelerated Cure Project to establish what is known and what is not known about the causes of MS. From the Cure Map, Accelerated Cure Project will facilitate research most likely to reveal the causes of MS in the shortest time through a large-scale, multidisciplinary, MS Repository. For more information about Accelerated Cure Project or to make a corporate or individual donation, call 781/487-0008, visit http://acceleratedcure.org, or send an email to info-pr@acceleratedcure.org.

About Multiple SclerosisMultiple Sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system that often results in severe disability including the inability to walk, blindness, cognitive dysfunction, extreme fatigue and other serious symptoms. MS affects over 400,000 people in the US and 2 million individuals worldwide. The disorder occurs twice as often in women as in men. The cause is not known and there is no known cure.

Montel Williams will visit city to push plans for needy

Sunday, February 04, 2007
ANNA VELASCONews staff writer

Montel Williams will be in Birmingham on Tuesday to promote a program that helps low-income people without prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need.

The television talk show host will give a press conference at 10 a.m. at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital explaining how Partnership for Prescription Assistance works to get needy people drugs for free, or nearly free. The program's Help Is Here Express bus will be at the hospital at 1515 Sixth Ave. South from 10 a.m. to noon. The bus has computers, telephones and staff to enroll people in one or several of the available 475 patient-assistance programs.

The pharmaceutical industry's national association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, started Partnership for Prescription Assistance in April 2005 as a way to coordinate the country's many assistance programs, including 180 offered by the drug companies. The program simplifies applying to the hundreds of groups into one enrollment process.

Since the program's start, more than 75,000 people in Alabama and 3.3 million nationally have been helped.

Williams became the national spokesman for the effort a year ago. "It works," he said in a telephone interview Friday. "That's why I'm doing it. And I'm going to continue to do it."

As a sufferer of multiple sclerosis, Williams takes $2,500 worth of prescriptions monthly. He knows how important access to medicine is. He got involved after the president of the drug industry's group appeared on one of his shows and challenged Williams to help raise awareness about the program, which comes with no strings attached.

Williams said he is proud that participation has soared since he got on board. He tries to make about two personal appearances a month as the Help Is Here Express travels the country, and he has appeared in commercials.

"For me, this is an incredible opportunity to use my face to get the word out about a program that can save people's lives," Williams said.

Williams said he expects anywhere from 300 to 1,200 people to turn out Tuesday at Cooper Green. On Monday, Williams said, he will shoot some segments in Birmingham for future shows that he has planned about race issues.

Before getting into television, Williams was a special duty intelligence officer in the Navy, specializing in cryptology. He graduated from the Naval Academy. His 2004 autobiography, "Climbing Higher," was a New York Times best-seller and explains his battle with multiple sclerosis. He also has written another best-selling autobiography, "Mountain Get Out of My Way."

People who can't make it to Tuesday's event can get help by going to the Web site at pparx.org, or by calling 888-477-2669.

E-mail: avelasco@bhamnews.com

BioMS Medical cleared by FDA to initiate pivotal phase III multiple sclerosis trial

EDMONTON, Jan. 19 /CNW/ - BioMS Medical Corp (TSX: MS), a leading
developer of products for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), announced
today that it has received clearance from the United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) of its Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for the
initiation of a pivotal phase III clinical trial to investigate the use of
MBP8298 as a treatment for patients with secondary progressive MS.

"The clearance to proceed with a phase III trial in the U.S. is a
significant step towards bringing MBP8298 to the worldwide market," said Kevin
Giese, President and CEO of BioMS Medical. "There are approximately 400,000
Americans with MS and close to 50% of patients have secondary progressive MS.
Between the U.S. initiative and the on-going pivotal phase III trial in Canada
and Europe, we are successfully executing our global development plan for
MBP8298."

The IND allows the commencement of a pivotal phase III secondary
progressive MS clinical trial in the US and has been granted on the basis of
satisfying FDA criteria regarding preclinical, chemistry, manufacturing and
safety data from the completed and ongoing clinical studies for MBP8298.

MAESTRO-03 Phase III US Trial

The pivotal phase III clinical trial in the US, named MAESTRO-03 (A
Double-blind, Placebo Controlled Multi-center Study to Evaluate the Efficacy
and Safety of MBP8298 in subjects with Secondary Progressive Multiple
Sclerosis), will be evaluating MBP8298 for the treatment of secondary
progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). The trial is a randomized, double-blind
study enrolling approximately 510 patients who will be administered either
MBP8298 or placebo intravenously every six months for a period of two years.
The primary clinical endpoint for the trial is defined as a statistically and
clinically significant increase in the time to progression of the disease as
measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), in patients with
HLA-DR2 and/or HLA-DR4 immune response genes (up to 75% of all MS patients are
HLA-DR2 and/or HLA-DR4 positive).

About MBP8298 - Novel Mechanism of Action

In MS patients, the body's immune system inappropriately attacks the
myelin coating around the nerves in the brain and spinal column, whereas
healthy people are otherwise "tolerant" of such common body components. The
proposed mechanism of action of MBP8298 is, by design, to re-introduce such a
state of "tolerance" to a critical portion of the nerve's Myelin Basic Protein
that is an immunological site of attack in many MS patients. This is
accomplished by the I.V. injection of MBP8298 every six months.
Phase II and long-term follow-up treatment of MS patients with MBP8298,
recently published in the European Journal of Neurology showed that MBP8298
safely delayed the median time to disease progression for five years in
progressive MS patients with HLA-DR2 or HLA-DR4 immune response genes.

MAESTRO-01 Trial

The MAESTRO-01 pivotal phase II/III, multi-center, double-blind,
placebo-controlled trial is currently being conducted at more than 50 sites
across Canada and Europe and will enroll approximately 550 patients who will
be administered either MBP8298 or placebo intravenously every six months for a
period of two years. The trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy
of MBP8298 in patients with secondary progressive MS. The primary clinical
endpoint for the trial is defined as a statistically and clinically
significant increase in the time to progression of the disease as measured by
the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), in patients with HLA-DR2 and/or
HLA-DR4 immune response genes. Time to disease progression in patients with
other HLA-DR types will be assessed separately as an exploratory arm of the
same study.

To date the trial has successfully passed six safety reviews by its
independent Data Safety Monitoring Board.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is thought to affect as many as 2.5 million
people worldwide, including approximately 75,000 in Canada, 400,000 in the
United States and over 450,000 in Western Europe. MS is a progressive disease
of the central nervous system, characterized initially by episodes of
paralysis, blindness, sensory disturbances and cognitive impairment. Almost
half of all MS patients have the secondary progressive form of the disease.

Webcast

An audio webcast of Mr. Kevin Giese, President and CEO of BioMS Medical,
discussing this release will be available at www.biomsmedical.com starting on
Monday, January 22, 2007. The replay of the webcast will be available for 90
days at www.biomsmedical.com.

About BioMS Medical Corp.
-------------------------
BioMS Medical is a biotechnology company engaged in the development and
commercialization of novel therapeutic technologies. BioMS Medical's lead
technology, MBP8298, is for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and it has two
pivotal phase III clinical trials for SPMS patients, MAESTRO-01 in Canada and
Europe and MAESTRO-03 in the United States. It additionally has a Phase II
MINDSET-01 trial in Europe for RRMS patients. For further information please
visit our website at www.biomsmedical.com.

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that
reflect the current views and/or expectations of BioMS Medical with respect to
its performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may
vary significantly.

For further information: Tony Hesby, Ryan Giese, Corporate
Communications, BioMS Medical Corp., (780) 413-7152, (780) 408-3040 Fax,
E-mail: rgiese@biomsmedical.com, Internet: www.biomsmedical.com; James Smith,
Investor Relations, (416) 815-0700 ext. 229, (416) 815-0080 Fax, E-mail:
jsmith@equicomgroup.com; Mr. Barry Mire, Investor Relations, Phone: (514)
939-3989, E-mail: bmire@renmarkfinancial.com

Cancer in Exchange for Multiple Sclerosis

2 February 2007

BRUSSELS — A private homeopathic clinic in Antwerp has been using stem cells to treat patients with multiple sclerosis and other illnesses, BBC reports.

The use of stem cells, proved to cause cancer, is forbidden in Belgium. Antwerp Prosecutor’s Office have launched an investigation.

Piet Vanthemsche, the head of the Fedreal Health Products Agency, visited the clinic yesterday and said he would keep the prosecutors updated. According to his information, the clinic had indeed broken the law.

The stem cells used in Antwerp came from Rotterdam. The PMC clinic in Rotterdam, headed by Dr. Robert Trossel, had continued their experiments with stem cells, recently outlawed in Holland, by transferring them to Antwerp. Twice a week, PMC ‘s Dr. Aanan took the train the Antwerp carrying his laptop and two containers with stem cells.

The Antwerp clinic had been using stem cells since November 2006. The treatment cost 12,000 euros and involved up to three stem cell injections.

Dr. Trossel would not comment on the subject.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]
Subject: Belgian news