MS News

The MS Cure Fund hit the ground running after an enjoyable holiday season! We began our New Year in New York City. After only being open for a few weeks, the Analogue restaurant in the West Village hosted our first-ever doctor dinner forum in NYC. Among the attendees were Timothy Vartanian, MD, PhD of Weill Cornell, Claire Riley, MD of Columbia University Medical Center and Stephen Krieger, MD of Mount Sinai Hospital (all featured left, respectively).

On Saturday, November 16, the MS Cure Fund hosted its Inaugural Maine Health Fair! It was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn, ME. The fair featured Mitchell Ross, MD of Central Maine Medical Centerwho spoke about “MS Medical Research Updates” for the first part of the event. Attendees enjoyed his dry sense of humor paired with an unmistakable knowledge of MS. Following his presentation, there was a short break where guests had lunch and two raffle winners were announced! We were pleased to present Barbara S. with a $50 gift card to L.L. Bean and Louise M. with a $50 gift card to the Olive Garden!

The MS Cure Fund visited the Merrimack Valley for an educational seminar by Jacob Sloane, MD, PhD. Guests enjoyed dinner at Princeton Station in Chelmsford, MA while Dr. Sloane shared his expertise of recent clinical trials and emerging MS therapies, particularly the oral medications. Dr. Sloane, who is a member of the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians and on staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, provided great insight into the types of ongoing clinical trials in which patients could participate.

On Saturday, November 9, MS Cure Fund hit the road and drove all the way to New York City to be a part of the “Conversations about Multiple Sclerosis Conference” held at Cornell University in the Judith Jaffe Multiple Sclerosis Center. This was the first ever NYC appearance made by the MS Cure Fund – and it was great!

The MS Cure Fund took to the Alden Park Bar & Grill in Plymouth, MA. Guests of the program enjoyed the restaurant’s dinner and dessert while they listed to Valeriy Parfenov, MD speak about the safety of MS therapies. Dr. Parfenov practices at Neurology Consultants at Harbor Medical Associates in Weymouth, MA. This practice is a part of the South Shore Hospital network. He completed his fellowship at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois Hospital in Switzerland. His experience in Europe gives Dr. Parfenov a unique perspective regarding the types of therapies available and their efficacy. Attendees took advantage of this in discussion following the presentation.

On Saturday, October 26, MS Cure Fund exhibited at four sites for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Greater New England Chapter Annual Meeting. We sent Marketing and Office Administrator, Alexandra Lowder, and MSCF volunteer, Dan, to Portland, ME at the Double Tree Hotel. They picked two winners for our raffle: Jane L. won the $25 Dunkin Donuts gift card and Mariette B. won the $25 Applebee’s gift card!

The MS Cure Fund headed north to visit T&B’s Outback Tavern in Waterville, ME. Attendees enjoyed a great dinner while they heard Roberto Bomprezzi, MD, PhD speak about the newest oral therapies in MS. Dr. Bomprezzi practices out of Maine General Neurology in Waterville, ME. A native of Rome, Italy, Dr. Bomprezzi has education and experiences that span across countries. Those experiences allowed him to not only provide examples of treatments for MS, but he also paired each with a personal anecdote. This brought a more personal touch to the presentation which allowed for a very lively discussion following the presentation.

The MS Cure Fund was pleased to host an event featuring
Neeta Garg, M.D., a neurologist from the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA. This event was held at the Aegean Restaurant in Framingham, MA. Dr. Garg spoke about the newly introduced therapies in Multiple Sclerosis and their effects on the patients that take them. After the therapies were talked of at length, the focus turned to the mother and father of a newly diagnosed patient.

The MS Cure Fund visited Papa Razzi in Burlington, MA to hear a great talk given by Ann Camac, M.D. and Caitlin Dionne, RN, BSN, MSCN. Both women work out of Lahey Clinic Multiple Sclerosis Center in Lexington, MA. Dr. Camac also works regularly from the main campus at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington. This being a newly diagnosed program, Dr. Camac provided an overview of the types of MS, what kind of symptoms occur with the disease and various ways of treating both the disease and the symptoms.

After a great talk with Dr. Garg on Tuesday night, MS Cure Fund took to the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, NH to hear Ann Cabot, D.O. talk about a variety of methods for pain management in MS. Dr. Cabot is the Director of the Multidisciplinary MS Clinic at Concord Hospital. Since this was a local event for Dr. Cabot, we saw a number of her patients attend. The pain management methods discussed ranged from medicines to yoga.