| Innovative MS-Oriented HOPE Trials Launched |
| Friday, 11 June 2010 15:46 | |||
 Madison, Wisconsin, June 2010 — HOPE Trials and Quincy Bioscience together with MS advocate and author Shelley Peterman Schwarz have officially announced the launch of an innovative Multiple Sclerosis study evaluating the effect of a jellyfish protein on quality of life symptoms for people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
MS HOPE Trials is enrolling participants with all forms of multiple sclerosis at the HOPE Trials website (http://www.hopetrials.com). By utilizing the internet for both recruitment and data gathering, Quincy Bioscience will reach a large number of people who might otherwise not participate in research due to time and travel limitations. This undertaking is one study of several planned under HOPE Trials, a larger research initiative by Quincy Bioscience, a Madison, Wisconsin-based biotechnology company which has developed the use of a jellyfish protein called apoaequorin for a wide range of potential health benefits. The research effort is driven, in part, by reports given to Quincy Bioscience of individuals with MS who experienced similar positive results taking the jellyfish protein-based supplement. The trial design is placebo-controlled and participants are blinded to which arm they are enrolled. The study is six months long and each participant will be asked to track certain functional aspects of living with MS and report their results. In partnering with Schwarz, a strong MS advocate and someone who continues to overcome the challenges of living with MS, HOPE Trials will be able to reach many more people in the MS community across the country. Schwarz has written for national publications such as Neurology Now, offering valuable patient perspectives on living with multiple sclerosis. She has also authored several books helping others diagnosed with chronic conditions with practical tips on making life a little easier. Individuals living with MS can also find valuable information on over coming day-to-day struggles on her website http://www.meetinglifeschallenges.com. Schwarz explains in her book Multiple Sclerosis 300: Tips for Making Life Easier the importance of being able to function cognitively. “When I was first diagnosed with MS, cognitive problems were thought to affect only a small number of people. Today, however, it is thought that between 43 and 65 percent of people who have MS have some cognitive problems. Problems with concentration, memory, processing information, or communications may be very frustrating.” Patients with MS suffer from a decreased quality of life in many areas including memory, sleep, pain, mobility, and muscle and speech difficulties. Although this is just some of the many exasperating symptoms of MS, the MS HOPE Trials study will be able to provide hope to people living with MS by improving their quality of life. Schwarz graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was a teacher of the hearing impaired in the Madison Metropolitan School District for 13 years. In 1979 she learned that she had multiple sclerosis. A motivational speaker and award-winning writer and author, Schwarz’s Tips for Making Life EasierTM have appeared in numerous publications including the Wisconsin State Journal, Mature Lifestyles, Arthritis Today, Neurology Now, and Inside MS. She appears monthly on the Noon News on WISC-TV, the CBS affiliate in Madison. Quincy Bioscience is a biotechnology company based in Madison. The company is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel compounds to fight the aging process. The company's products focus on restoring calcium balance related to neurodegenerative disorders and other destructive age-related mechanisms. SOURCE: Quincy Bioscience
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