Interesting new approach to treating multiple sclerosis (MS)

This is very sad. My personal opinion is that such research should be financed more via public research money.

Furthermore, I think taking care of health should be more part of standard school curriculum. Of course, many things are debated, controversial, but I often found many people to lack basic understanding of what is harmful for health.

For example in school we learned how to play basketball, volleyball, even tennis. But we never learnt how to walk properly, jump properly, what to pay attention to not overdo. If you have a common problem like muscle strain, tendonitis - how do you deal with in principle. I hope newer generations do get or will start getting better practical education. After all tax money goes into the schooling system. It should pay back more imo.

I am not a doctor but have many family members who are. Hence I have been maybe more exposed to medical approaches then average population. Some also do think many our illnesses are from viruses, illnesses that pass on that we don't pay much attention to. Many things later in life stem from pregnancy. Sometimes even doctors don't tell about possible causes as they don't want people to feel bad about something that was non-intentional and cannot be changed. A very simple thing - many take paracetamol during pregnancy as it is told by many to not be harmful. But recent studies indicate otherwise... While it can be a life-saver the question of a healthy balance remains.

Hm, hubby already takes Metformin as part of his diabetes treatment. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t really had any further MS relapses.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-61176657

‘Major moment in MS research’ as new Octopus trial starts

Ailsa, now 47, is taking part in a groundbreaking new trial, which is looking into whether existing drugs can be repurposed to help slow MS progression.

The way it is designed means several drugs can be tried at the same time, and more can be added or dropped as results emerge.

The Octopus trial - so-called because it is a multi-arm, multi-stage trial - is being run by Prof Jeremy Chataway, from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery UCLH in London, with £13m in funding from the UK’s MS Society.

A similar trial design has been used to test drugs for prostate cancer and Covid.

Existing trial patients who prove to be on ineffective drugs can swap to a new arm, and are allowed to continue any other MS disease-modifying drugs they may already be taking.

The first two trial medications are high-dose metformin - a diabetes drug that may help regenerate myelin - and a version of high-dose alpha-lipoic acid, which is a food supplement that acts as an anti-oxidant. It has already been approved in Germany for treating neuropathy - weakness, pain, numbness or tingling in damaged nerves.

The trial team spent several years whittling down 100 potential drugs, and will add more as other strong contenders emerge.

“We are at the start of a long journey,” says Prof Chataway. “There are now many treatments for relapsing-remitting MS, but far less available for progressive MS. This trial structure is like a machine for testing drugs for progressive MS. We hope to make it an everlasting machine - at least until we have achieved what we want in controlling and ultimately reversing progression in this difficult stage of MS.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65135637

Maybe another possible for future use.

https://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/ne
s-progression/

I agree with the sentiment.

My experience is that the situation is improving. Kids now (in most schools) get a much better overview than they did in my day when the subject of general health was never raised. It is also not easy for schools - they are under a lot of pressure from all-sides to include this and that. Lehrplan 21 is a good example - full of good intentions but the reality is that teachers and schools do not have the time or resources to deliver everything - they then make decisions for better or worse.

You can argue for the current curriculum to be dropped in favour of some more "real-world" option. The problem is that nobody can agree on what this should look like.

Students may "learn a lot of crap in high-school", but there is little difference in this respect between state and private schools. What you learn out of school is just as important.

" Roche claims clinical successes against multiple sclerosis

The multinational pharmaceutical company Roche says it has observed the primary endpoint established for the first of two late-stage clinical programs on the drug fenebrutinib, developed against multiple sclerosis, called Fenhance 2.

Administration of the substance over at least 96 weeks significantly reduced the annualized rate of disease recurrence compared to teriflunomide therapy.

Fenebrutinib has also demonstrated non-inferiority to Roche’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in slowing the primary-progressive form of the disease as part of the Fentrepid program, according to a press release issued on Monday.

Without venturing into the field of quantified data at this stage, Roche promises to detail the results of these research programs at future medical congresses, once the conclusions of the Fenhance 1 component are available by the end of next year."

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