MS drug shows promise for preventing heart failure

A drug already approved to treat multiple sclerosis may also hold promise for treating cardiac hypertrophy, or thickening of the cardiac muscle - a disorder that often leads to heart failure, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report. The findings are published in the July 16 issue of Circulation: Heart Failure. Cardiac hypertrophy is a slow thickening of the heart muscle that shrinks the interior volume of the heart, forcing the organ to work harder to pump a diminishing volume of blood. "There comes a day when the heart just can't keep up any more, and it fails," says R. John Solaro, UIC distinguished university professor and head of physiology and biophysics. Cardiac hypertrophy, which afflicts one in 500 people, can be caused by high blood pressure or inherited through genes that control contraction of the heart. Solaro and his colleagues believe that if the thickening of the heart muscle could be slowed, or maybe even reversed, heart failure could be prevented

Blood pressure drug may help treat MS

A drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure may also double as a multiple sclerosis treatment. A new study shows the inexpensive blood pressure drug lisinopril blocked development of multiple sclerosis in laboratory mice bred to develop the disease. And when the drug was given to mice with full-blown symptoms of multiple sclerosis, it reversed their paralysis without affecting their overall immunity. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease in which the body's immune system malfunctions and can eventually lead to paralysis or even death. The disease is difficult to treat without compromising normal immune function and protection. But researcher Lawrence Steinman, MD, of Stanford University says multiple sclerosis and high blood pressure both involve inflammatory processes that may benefit from treatment with lisinopril. If future studies confirm these results, lisinopril may provide a less expensive treatment alternative for multiple sclerosis. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined the effects of treatment with lisinopril in mice bred to develop brain lesions similar to those found in people with multiple sclerosis after being given a disease-triggering chemical

2009 Saskatchewan Blue Cross MS WALK

2009 Saskatchewan Blue Cross MS WALK - Sunday April 26, 2009 - Archibald Arena, Saskatoon - Check in 8:30am, WALK 10:00am - Route is 6km