To help physicians provide the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is recommending physicians measure how frequently they complete annual assessments of people age 65 and older for thinking and memo…
New app offers faster and easier assessment for multiple sclerosis
Researchers report they have developed and validated a tablet-based app that offers a faster, easier and more accurate way for health care providers who don’t have specialized training to assess the cognitive function of people with multiple sclerosis …
Social cognition, mood and fatigue in multiple sclerosis
The researchers emphasized the preliminary nature of their findings and recommended further research in individuals with MS, as well in other populations with non-neurologic conditions, and healthy controls.
Medicare patients with multiple sclerosis bear the burden of rising drug prices
In a decade, Medicare recipients saw a sevenfold increase in out of pocket costs for multiple sclerosis drugs. Spending on these drugs by Medicare itself increased by tenfold.
Vegetable-rich diet lowers fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients by raising good cholesterol
Higher levels of blood high-density lipoprotein (HDL) — or good cholesterol — may improve fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients, according to a new study.
Smoldering spots in the brain may signal severe MS
Aided by a high-powered brain scanner and a 3D printer, researchers peered inside the brains of hundreds of multiple sclerosis patients and found that dark rimmed spots representing ongoing, ‘smoldering’ inflammation, called chronic active lesions, may…
Forgotten immune cells protective in mouse model of multiple sclerosis
A seldom-studied class of immune cells may reduce the friendly fire that drives autoimmune disease, according to a new study. Stimulating these protective cells could lead to new therapies for diseases in which the immune system attacks the body’s own …
Cell types affected in brains of multiple sclerosis patients pinpointed
Scientists have discovered that a specific brain cell known as a ‘projection neuron’ has a central role to play in the brain changes seen in multiple sclerosis (MS). The research shows that projection neurons are damaged by the body’s own immune cells,…
Gut microbes protect against neurologic damage from viral infections
Gut microbes produce compounds that prime immune cells to destroy harmful viruses in the brain and nervous system, according to a mouse study.
Are the ‘viral’ agents of MS, ALS and schizophrenia buried in our genome?
What if the missing ‘environmental’ factor in some of our deadliest neurological diseases were really written in our genome? Researchers explain how viruses ended up in our DNA — and what puts them in the frame in unsolved diseases like multiple scler…