This is an overview of two different styles of cooling vest. The first I show you uses water evaporation to cool, while the second is filled with 9 ice packs. Both have pluses and minuses involving looks, weight, and versatility in dry and moist climates. I made this video to help out other people like me, who have MS and want to get a cooling vest.
Dr. Sandroff monitors a research participant in the Exercise Neurorehabilitation Research Laboratory at Kessler Foundation. CREDIT Kessler Foundation/Jody Banks
The rigorous design of randomized controlled trials may provide evidence for the neuroprotective effects of exercise training for individuals with multiple sclerosis. The absence of evidence from available studies does not constitute evidence of the absence of neuroprote
A team of experts encouraged ongoing investigation of the benefits of exercise training for individuals with multiple sclerosis, citing shortcomings of available studies. They outlined their outlook for this avenue of research in, “Exercise in multiple sclerosis,”
Team members countered the conclusions of recent reviews, which stated that exercise training is not associated with neuroprotection in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Evidence suggests that exercise can prevent or reverse existing and measurable neurological damage or decline, asserted team members. They also suggest that available studies are few and poorly designed and should not discourage ongoing research in this promising field.
Shortcomings cited by the team include patient selection (lack of measurable, pre-existing central nervous system damage), design of exercise regimens (too-short durations of training protocols/follow up), lack of a-priori neurophysiological hypotheses (failure to consider brain adaptations and regions of interest for neuroprotection), and selection of neuroimaging techniques (overreliance on whole-brain/structural neuroimaging).
“The shortcomings of existing research preclude the rendering of strong conclusions at this time,” said lead author Dr. Sandroff, senior research scientist in the Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience at Kessler Foundation. “Only through rigorous study can we explore the promise of neuroprotection for individuals living with multiple sclerosis,” he stressed.
“Advancing this line of research depends upon well-designed, randomized, controlled trials based on our knowledge of focal, exercise-induced neuroprotection, with targeted selection criteria, adequate durations of training and follow up, and appropriate neuroimaging techniques,” he concluded. “That will comprise the future evidence base for assessing the role of exercise training in the management of multiple sclerosis. As an approach that offers low cost, easy access, and few side effects, the potential benefits of exercise for individuals with multiple sclerosis warrant thorough investigation.”
In this video, I discuss how paradigm shifting is a critical skill to master to live your best life despite a chronic condition such as Multiple Sclerosis.
“But you don’t look sick!” Many MS symptoms are invisible – from cognitive challenges to spasticity – making it difficult for others to understand your MS experience. Kathy Costello, vice president of programs at Can Do MS, joins this week’s Ask an MS Expert to discuss common invisible symptoms and how to manage them.
Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with the drug rituximab had a significantly lower risk of relapse compared with MS patients receiving standard treatment. This has been shown in a phase 3 clinical trial by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital in Sweden published in The Lancet Neurology. Rituximab is not approved as an MS drug, but has proven to be effective in smaller studies and is therefore largely prescribed “off label”.
The Phase 3 clinical trial is a multicentre study involving 195 patients from 17 hospitals in Sweden newly diagnosed with the most common form of MS, relapsing-remitting MS. Patients were randomly given either rituximab (Mabthera) or standard dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) treatment. During the 24-month follow-up, the occurrence of relapses, i.e., a temporary deterioration of the disease state, was investigated.
The results showed that those treated with rituximab had a five-fold lower risk of relapse. Only three out of 98 patients who received rituximab suffered relapses, compared to 16 out of 97 patients who received dimethyl fumarate. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) also showed that those who received rituximab had fewer new MS plaques, i.e., areas of damage or scarring in the central nervous system. No increased risk of adverse effects with rituximab was observed.
“The excellent efficacy and low cost of rituximab could make it an attractive first choice for newly diagnosed MS patients, not least in resource-poor areas. But more and larger studies are needed to confirm the drug’s efficacy, long-term safety and cost-effectiveness for MS,” says the study’s first author Anders Svenningsson, adjunct professor at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet and chief physician at the neurology clinic at Danderyd Hospital.
Rituximab is used for a variety of medical conditions but is not approved for the treatment of MS because there has been a lack of data from phase 3 clinical trials. However, the drug has been shown to have a good effect on relapsing-remitting MS and is therefore often prescribed off label, which means that the treating doctor alone assumes responsibility for the treatment.
“Since the patent has expired, there is no incentive from the pharmaceutical company holding the marketing rights to apply for a new indication. But now, in addition to accumulated clinical experience, we also have the documentation that is usually required to apply for an indication. Our study is an important step on the way for rituximab to become an approved MS drug,” says Anders Svenningsson.