Developing Therapy to Treat Muscle Spasms in MS Patients

It has been a few days since my last post because I have been lazy - sorry!  No other excuses, just pure laziness.  I went to the neurologist on Monday for a check up and everything went well with my exam.  I am still feeling good, I went a little lax on exercising this week, but plan on getting back on track.  I have noticed intermittent numbness in my toes and some tingling in my legs at times, but overall I am doing well!
 

In, MS news, "Canbex Therapeutics Ltd. (Canbex) announced today that it has received a Translation Award of up to 1.75 million ($2.8 million) from the Wellcome Trust to support development of a therapy for the treatment of the debilitating muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and potentially other disorders."  I don't generally blog about therapies designed to only treat one symptom of MS.  This is, in large part, because I don't have a need for these types of therapies at this time and I am more interested in research and therapies that treat MS as a whole or cure MS.  However, I know more and more people are reading this blog, therefore, I feel obligated to report on any and all news that I encounter.

Excerpts from an article on the NMSS website, states:

The award will facilitate further preclinical development of Canbex’s VSN series of compounds and the progression into clinical trials.  It is anticipated that a Phase I trial of lead compound VSN16R could begin in December 2012.
Preclinical studies have shown that VSN16R treatment reduces muscle spasms in an animal model of MS spasticity, with a far lower burden of side effects than the decades-old compounds that are currently in clinical use.  Even at high doses, animals treated with of VSN16R did not show the limpness and muscle flaccidity, know as the “rag doll effect”, that is a characteristic of existing compounds.
MS is a serious and typically progressive chronic disease for which no satisfactory cure is in sight. Spasticity, characterized by sudden and uncontrollable movements of limb and torso musculature, is among the most painful, damaging and debilitating symptoms of the disease.  It can manifest itself in the form of gait disorders, fatigue, spasms and pain. Spasticity can also occur in other conditions, including bladder dysfunction and spinal cord injury.
Current forms of treatment for spasticity are unsatisfactory, and a drug against spasticity that is well tolerated and effective could make a substantial difference to quality of life for MS patients and potentially many others.
Canbex has been developing its VSN series of compounds with the support of interested investors including Fast Forward LLC, a not for profit organization established by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, USA, to accelerate the development of treatments for MS.  “Fast Forward’s support has been a uniquely powerful endorsement of our efforts, one which has encouraged other funders and the MS community to engage with us,” Stephane Mery said.
"Fast Forward is very pleased that Canbex has been able to leverage its support and the support of others to secure investment from the Wellcome Trust.  This will enable Canbex to make substantial progress in advancing a potentially promising therapy that could significantly improve the quality of life for people living with MS," said Dr. Timothy Coetzee, Chief Research Officer at the National MS Society.

This sounds very promising for the treatment of muscle spasms.  I have experienced slight muscle spasms, but nothing like what I have been told about them by others who suffer through them.  Hopefully this therapy will be as effective as they anticipate and hopefully it will be available as soon as possible for those who need it.

I hope this information is useful to many of you reading!