One person is dead and five others are hospitalized in a phase I trial that went badly wrong. Three of the survivors may have suffered irreversible brain damage, according to Dr. Gilles Edan, head of neurology at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, France, as quoted in the New York Times (Chanjan S. NY Times, Jan. 15, 2016). Preliminary MRI results showed cerebral hemorrhage and brain necrosis in some study participants. Read More
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Emerging data on bullying as a risk factor for depression, anxiety
December 16, 2015A number of recent studies have examined the impact of bullying during childhood and adolescence on the development of mental health issues later in life. Read More
Increased cardiovascular risk in Parkinson’s disease
December 16, 2015Patients with Parkinson’s disease have a significantly elevated risk of acute myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death, according to a population-based longitudinal study (Liang et al. Am Heart J 2015;169:508-514). The analysis included 3,211 PD patients and 3,211 propensity score-matched subjects without PD. During the three-year follow-up, there were 83 fatal or non-fatal AMIs in the PD group compared to 53 in the non-PD group (hazard ratio 1.67). There were also significant differences in the PD versus non-PD groups for the combined endpoint of AMI or cardiovascular death (HR 1.46), and for AMI or all-cause mortality (HR 1.42). Read More
High-efficacy MAbs in MS: an update
November 25, 2015ECTRIMS highlights
Efficacy results
Monitoring and safety issues
Commentary by Dr. Paul S. Giacomini, Associate Director, MS Clinic, Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University
Natalizumab and alemtuzumab are the two high-efficacy monoclonal antibodies typically used to treat aggressive multiple sclerosis and patients with an inadequate response to prior therapies. New data on the use of these agents were presented at the 31st congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ECTRIMS). The following summarizes some of the research addressing efficacy, mode of action and safety considerations. Read More