Momentum - Spring 2013

In the news and on our website

Taking steps toward personalized medicine

The disease course in multiple sclerosis—and the response to therapy—varies from person to person, and we currently have no reliable means to tell early on how active any individual’s MS is likely to be.

However, a team led by Dr. Philip L. De Jager, a Harry Weaver Scholar of the National MS Society (Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston) has discovered that differences in active genes—detectable in blood samples—have the potential to be used to predict disease course and response to therapy. Further research is needed to verify and refine this approach before it becomes a tool that can benefit MS treatment decisions.

Ginkgo fails to
improve cognitive function

Results of a placebo-controlled, 12-week clinical trial showed that Ginkgo biloba failed to improve cognitive function in people with MS. The study involved 121 people with all types of MS and some cognitive impairment. After 12 weeks, no differences were seen between those people taking ginkgo and those taking placebo in any of the outcome measures. The authors, led by Dr. Jesus Lovera

(Louisiana State University, New Orleans) and funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, point out that this study only looked at the short-term use of ginkgo.

Changing how MS progression is measured A Society task force is launching a far-ranging collaboration to analyze how MS progression is measured in clinical trials, and to develop a new method for measuring MS-related disability. This work addresses a glaring need for a way to quickly evaluate the ability of potential therapies to stop or reverse MS progression. The task force is collaborating with the Critical Path Institute, a nonprofit partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to help advance this new tool. n