MS Research Roundup: 8 January 2016

MS Research Roundup collects items of interest to multiple sclerosis researchers from around the Web. Send us your tips: tips@msdiscovery.org.

Mind-Body Evidence Summaries in MS

Evidence suggests that mind-body practices such as yoga may alleviate some symptoms of MS, but most dietary supplements fall short when it comes to showing clear benefits. A new shorthand guide provided by the National Center on Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) summarizes scientific literature about complementary therapies for clinicians and provides fact sheets for patients. The guide describes studies covering a wide range of complementary approaches for treating MS symptoms, including cannabinoids, ginkgo biloba, bee venom, omega-3 supplementation, magnet therapy, reflexology, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, vitamin D supplementation, and yoga. The information on MS treatments was gathered from guidelines issued in a 2014 publication by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The NCCIH made the guidelines the focus of their December 2015 Clinical Digest. The NCCIH, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) headed by director Josephine Briggs, changed its name from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in January 2015. –SS (NCCIH Clinical Digest)

MS Research Podcasts & Videos

MS Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum, has quickly become a favorite feature, routinely exceeding 2,000 downloads a month. We were pleased to learn it tops a “best of” list of MS-related podcasts in a recent column in Healthline, a medical search engine and content provider. For the MSDF research audience, the list might also include podcasts of the journals Neurology and Lancet Neurology (direct download or available on iTunes), which have recently included topics in MS and neuromyelitis optica. Video interviews about MS research can be viewed at the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, the National MS Society, and two research-related playlists of Shift.ms’s YouTube channel, “The MS Reports - By MSers. For MSers” and “The People’s Hot Topic.” –CCM

This Bike Has MS & Kiss Goodbye to MS

Cycling may be good for MS, but MS is not good for the bike. A team of bike mechanics, neurologists, and people with MS have designed a bike that simulates some common and hidden symptoms of MS as part of a campaign to raise awareness ahead of the MS Melbourne Cycle, a fundraising event for MS Australia. “Its gears are unpredictable, its frame off-balanced, and its brakes numb to press,” the video ad narrator says. Additional irritants include a wheel weighted down by fatigue, a dizzy fork, and an even more painful seat than typical. The bike and an unnamed rider are entered in the March 6 event. When it comes to creative fundraising campaigns for MS, those Aussies are on a roll, so to speak. Kiss Goodbye to MS, a successful national initiative for MS Research Australia, is going global for 2016 and 2017. It launches next week, under the auspices of the MS International Federation (MSIF). –CCM (Adweek, Grey Group Australia, MSIF, thisbikehasms.com) (Tip from @jvfarnum13, @luckthelady, & @KissGoodbyeToMS)

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