Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders 1 (2012) 55
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msard
Editorial
Editors’ welcome
Happy New Year to all our readers! We are pleased to report that following a successful launch of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders at ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS in Amsterdam last year we have now enrolled over 1000 individuals who will receive the print copies and have online access to the journal (www.msardjournal.com) and growing all the time! Please do not forget that letters to the Editors about MSARD journal content or indeed any aspect of MS are welcome. We would be particularly interested to hear your views on ECTRIMS. Any viewpoint—social, scientific, sponsorship, etc. The current issue (number 2) is full of variety and longer than its predecessor. Dr. Giovannoni reviews the large number of disease modifying therapies that were presented at ECTRIMS/ ACTRIMS. One oral presentation that caught the attention of Dr. Hawkes was a multicenter study of negatively interacting risk factors in MS. This survey and the concept of risk in general for MS patients is reviewed briefly. Dr. Pender’s commentary leads with the fundamental question of ‘whether Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is present in the brain and, if so, what is it doing there’ and synthesizes opinions expressed at the 2010 EBV workshop in Vienna. In the Reviews division, Dr. Baker and colleagues present a masterly discourse and superbly illustrated assessment of the actions of cannabis, providing new evidence that Sativex, the oral synthetic cannabis spray has anti-spastic activity in a rodent MS spasticity model. This observation will be particularly interesting
2211-0348/$ - see front matter & 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.msard.2012.01.005
for researchers and indeed many patients who may be struggling to obtain cannabinoids. Dr. Dobson evaluates the use of urinary biomarkers such as neopterin, free light chains, nitric oxide metabolites and myelin basic protein-like material as potential longitudinal inflammatory indices. In the Original Articles section, Dr. Lindsey describes the baseline characteristics of their cohort in the on-going multicentre CombiRx trial which in essence compares beta-interferon and glatiramer acetate combined injection against monotherapy with either compound. Dr. Singer elaborates his groups’ experience of an electronic autoinjector for delivery of subcutaneous IFNb-1a which they found to be reliable and easy to use. Many will not have heard of Crystal Storing Histiocytosis and even fewer will be aware it may be confused with MS. Read Dr. Costanzi’s case report to learn about their patient—only the third to be described in the world literature! Finally, Dr. Zaheer describes two patients with moyamoya syndrome which very rarely, but once more, may mimic MS. Have a good read!
The Editors-in-Chief Brenda Banwell Gavin Giovannoni Christopher Hawkes Fred Lublin
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msard
Editorial
Editors’ welcome
Happy New Year to all our readers! We are pleased to report that following a successful launch of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders at ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS in Amsterdam last year we have now enrolled over 1000 individuals who will receive the print copies and have online access to the journal (www.msardjournal.com) and growing all the time! Please do not forget that letters to the Editors about MSARD journal content or indeed any aspect of MS are welcome. We would be particularly interested to hear your views on ECTRIMS. Any viewpoint—social, scientific, sponsorship, etc. The current issue (number 2) is full of variety and longer than its predecessor. Dr. Giovannoni reviews the large number of disease modifying therapies that were presented at ECTRIMS/ ACTRIMS. One oral presentation that caught the attention of Dr. Hawkes was a multicenter study of negatively interacting risk factors in MS. This survey and the concept of risk in general for MS patients is reviewed briefly. Dr. Pender’s commentary leads with the fundamental question of ‘whether Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is present in the brain and, if so, what is it doing there’ and synthesizes opinions expressed at the 2010 EBV workshop in Vienna. In the Reviews division, Dr. Baker and colleagues present a masterly discourse and superbly illustrated assessment of the actions of cannabis, providing new evidence that Sativex, the oral synthetic cannabis spray has anti-spastic activity in a rodent MS spasticity model. This observation will be particularly interesting
2211-0348/$ - see front matter & 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.msard.2012.01.005
for researchers and indeed many patients who may be struggling to obtain cannabinoids. Dr. Dobson evaluates the use of urinary biomarkers such as neopterin, free light chains, nitric oxide metabolites and myelin basic protein-like material as potential longitudinal inflammatory indices. In the Original Articles section, Dr. Lindsey describes the baseline characteristics of their cohort in the on-going multicentre CombiRx trial which in essence compares beta-interferon and glatiramer acetate combined injection against monotherapy with either compound. Dr. Singer elaborates his groups’ experience of an electronic autoinjector for delivery of subcutaneous IFNb-1a which they found to be reliable and easy to use. Many will not have heard of Crystal Storing Histiocytosis and even fewer will be aware it may be confused with MS. Read Dr. Costanzi’s case report to learn about their patient—only the third to be described in the world literature! Finally, Dr. Zaheer describes two patients with moyamoya syndrome which very rarely, but once more, may mimic MS. Have a good read!
The Editors-in-Chief Brenda Banwell Gavin Giovannoni Christopher Hawkes Fred Lublin
