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The US National MS Society reports that the year 2007 saw rapid research progress in the fields of science and medicine that impact our understanding of MS. This is a helpful summing up of key developments in current MS research, from an American perspective.
They say significant advances have been made in both clinical and laboratory studies in MS. In addition, more than 130 clinical trials are underway around the world, and still other experimental drugs are in the pipeline.
Key highlights of the year are outlined on their website at: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOM_RES_research_2007dec14
There is still no resolution for the elderly South Auckland couple, Barbara and Arthur Broome, forced to live on separate floors in their own home while they continue to wait for the Ministry of Health to install a lift. (See previous News RoundUp at: http://www.msnz.org.nz/newsandevents/roundups/roundup28.html#1 ).
Scoop Independent News, reported National Party Disability Issues spokesman, Dr Paul Hutchison saying: “the Labour Government could have delivered a sick, elderly Takanini couple the best Christmas present they could wish for, but it has refused to.”
"Barbara Broome has multiple sclerosis and lives upstairs; her husband, Alan, has terminal cancer and came back from a rest home to live with his wheelchair-bound wife so they could be together. He lives downstairs because of his condition.
"On Christmas Day, this couple will have waited 400 days for the Government to fulfil its promise of a lift in their home.
Dr Hutchison has written to Health Minister David Cunliffe asking him to take urgent action.
"This couple deserves to live in their own home together and the Ministry should have kept its promise."
The Rocky Mountain MS Center in Colorado USA has become a significant international influence on MS care. It provides care, research, education and support to people with MS. One of their most vital national – and increasingly international – educational programmes is their Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program.
Through their website at www.ms-cam.org they report they have formed an online MS community of over 30,000 people from over 70 countries. “We have worked hard to provide evidence-based MS information regarding different forms of complementary and alternative medicine available to you. This information is not otherwise available on the web.
“We have also recently published two booklets describing how people with MS can develop a truly integrative approach to care, one that includes the best of both conventional and unconventional therapies. The two booklets, written by Dr. Allen Bowling and Tom Stewart, are: 5 Steps: An Integrative Approach to Treating MS and Diet & Dietary Supplements & MS: A Balanced Approach.
You can obtain these booklets online with a donation of US$30 or more. Go to: https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/RockyMountainMSCenter/OnlineDonation.html to make your donation.
Volunteering NZ reports that people in the 60–64 age group were the most likely to be involved in voluntary work for an organisation, group or marae in the four weeks preceding census night. This was one of the interesting pieces of information included in Quick Stats about Unpaid Work released by Statistics NZ on 5 December, International Volunteer Day.
Nineteen percent of those aged 60–64 years undertook voluntary work. Rates were also high for those aged 40– 49 years and 65 years and over, with participation rates of 18 percent for these age groups.
The full report can be found at this website http://www.stats.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/8783B6EF-B8A4-419C-89D4-DF52664F809F/0/quickstatsaboutunpaidwork.pdf
The Government has released a discussion document on the idea of introducing a voluntary payroll giving scheme to make it easier for people to donate money to charitable organisations.
Employees would choose their charity, decide how much they want to donate each payday, and ask their employers to make the deduction from their pay. They would receive tax relief for their donations at each payday, rather than have to wait to claim a rebate at the end of the year. Employers would forward the donation to charitable organisations or intermediaries.
The discussion document can be found at this link "Payroll giving: providing a real-time benefit for charitable giving" and submissions need to be made by Friday 25 January.
On 13 December the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a Public Information Report on Sativex, a cannabis extract of the British company GW Pharmaceuticals approved for medical use in Canada. The MHRA has taken this unprecedented step due to its view of the “huge public interest” in Sativex and the fact that approximately 1200 patients in the UK have so far received the medicine on prescription on a named patient basis.
The report concludes that the safety profile of Sativex is considered acceptable in principle for the proposed patient population and indication, providing sufficient efficacy is demonstrated. GW Pharmaceuticals is currently conducting a clinical study to clarify the remaining questions on efficacy of their extract. The report includes a consensus statement by a panel of independent experts.
“We conclude that Sativex meets a currently unmet medical need in patients where there is no other conservative treatment option. It is our view that Sativex should be licensed and become available on prescription for patients with spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, and we urge the MHRA to do so.
[Sativex is approved in Canada for pain relief from advanced cancer and MS and restricted access to it is available in New Zealand for pain relief.]