Siponimod SPMS treatment on rocks but not sunk in health service quest

MS organisations battle for SPMS treatment to be available to those who need it. Draft guidelines challenged.

Government COVID-19 lockdown forces changes to MS Awareness Week

MS Awareness Week has arrived in the UK, to be met by the fifth week of the country’s COVID-19 lockdown. Faced with events being postponed, the MS Society wants us to flood social media with stories of MS - to raise awareness of all its symptoms

Have fun, raise money and awareness of MS

MS Awareness Month begins on March 1, just three days away, so it is just the right time to look at how many of us are living with the disease, and to look ahead to taking part in, supporting, and having fun enjoying its activities,

Ocrevus now approved UK-wide as an NHS treatment for early primary progressive MS

It will probably be no surprise, to regular readers, that I pay special attention to both the development and availability of treatments for PPMS (Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis). Ocrevus is now approved to treat early PPMS on NHS in all UK.

Now Ocrevus blocked from health service in Scotland

Hot on the heels of NICE rejecting Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a treatment of PPMS by the National Health Service (NHS) in England, it has been blocked as a therapy for relapsing MS in Scotland. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) says it does not consider ocrelizumab to be cost effective for the NHS in Scotland  as a treatment …

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MS bodies look for NICE support for PPMS treatment

Leading MS organisations are seeking support to gain approval for ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) to treat all primary progressive MS (PPMS). It is already approved for use against early PPMS. Both of the UK’s MS Society and MS Trust are campaigning to get the medication approved for wider use by the country’s National Health Service (NHS). And …

Cuts proposed to MS treatment options

It cannot be right, it really can’t! People with multiple sclerosis are facing being denied access to five previously approved disease modifying therapies (DMTs). This shocking development would affect people who are newly diagnosed or those wishing to change to a different drug. The proposal to cut the number of treatment options comes in the …

MS: Emergency hospital admissions continue to rise

Emergency hospital admissions for people with MS are rising in a major part of the UK. So says new research published by the MS Trust and Wilmington Healthcare. These admissions cause distress, and cost the NHS millions. Yet many could be avoided. The report shows that emergency hospital admissions for people with MS in England increased by 12.7% …

Shameful that charities ‘sell out’ people with disabilites

Several leading disability charities are being criticized, by a user-led disability group, for flirting with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and  seeking to gain UK government contracts. The Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) said that the charities are 'selling out' and that there is no way that the charities could speak out strongly …

Acute shortage of MS Specialist Nurses prompts funding drive

Most people living with MS in the UK live in areas where there aren’t enough MS nurses to provide vital care and support, according to a new report.  The report published last week by the MS Trust shows that 64% of people (around 68,000) are in that situation. Now, the trust is launching a campaign …