Last Year of my 20s

I turned 29 last week and officially entered the last year of my 20s.  I hope that this year is a great end to an era :)  I will have my first child, entering motherhood is sure to be amazing in more ways than one!  I will mark my 2nd anniversary of my diagnoses with MS in September and I will hopefully have an opportunity to get a new MRI and see if I have developed new lesions - I will keep my fingers crossed that I have not!  I am optimistic that this will be a good year!

In news, I just read a blurb that a study was done to see if there is a link between cell phone use and MS - lucky for all of us living in the technology-rich world, "no significant evidence for a pronounced association between mobile phone use and risk of MS or mortality rate among people with MS" was found.

Want to be involved in a clinical trial?  Check out one of these:

What Triggers MS in Kids? –

Investigators nationwide are recruiting 640 children with early relapsing-remitting MS or CIS (clinically isolated syndrome, a single episode of MS-like symptoms) and 1280 children without MS or CIS for a four-year study to determine environmental and genetic risk factors that make children susceptible to developing MS. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, leverages the National MS Society’s support of the Promise: 2010 Pediatric Network of Centers of Excellence.

Those under age 18 who had disease onset (MS or CIS) in the last two years may enroll in this study with the consent of their parents. Children without MS or CIS can enroll if they are 19 or younger and don’t have a demyelinating disease or an autoimmune disorder (except asthma). 

Participants are providing blood samples to test for genetic and environmental risk factors that may be associated with pediatric MS. Next, all participants are completing questionnaires about relevant environmental factors. Investigators also will draw information from participants’ medical records.

For further information, please contact Janace Hart (University of California, San Francisco) at (415) 514-2476.

Participate in a Trial of Vitamin D Supplementation –

Investigators at several centers nationwide are recruiting 172 people with relapsing-remitting MS to compare the effectiveness of the current recommended amount of vitamin D supplementation versus high dose vitamin D supplementation at reducing MS disease activity, when added to standard therapy with glatiramer acetate (Copaxone®, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries).

To learn more about the enrollment criteria for this study, and to find out if you are eligible to participate, please see: http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=28288047&msgid=425901&act=X8WI&c=263560&destination=http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01490502, or e-mail vitamindtrialms@jhmi.edu.