MS Awareness Week March 13-17

NEW YORK, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of MS Awareness Week (March 13 - 17), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is launching a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable and often disabling disease of the central nervous system that affects 2.5 million worldwide.

This effort is being echoed across the entire MS organizational community. Each group is highlighting its own activities in the fight against MS throughout the month of March and joining forces with the Society in an advocacy outreach alert March 14th in support of increased MS research funding.

"We want to encourage people to come face to face with a disease that impacts every person differently and to inspire people across the country to join in the fight to end the devastating effects of MS," explained Joyce Nelson, president and CEO of the National MS Society. "Though our efforts to build awareness, understanding and support for the MS cause will certainly continue long past the parameters of this week, we hope by helping to shine a weeklong spotlight on a disease that strikes someone new each hour, we can strengthen the nationwide commitment to unraveling the mysteries of multiple sclerosis."

The following are some of the more unique activities that will unfold during MS Awareness Week and can be found at http://www.msawarenessweek.org/

COME FACE TO FACE WITH MS -- How do you tell the story of MS? How do you put a face on a disease that affects each person living with it so differently? You build the story of MS, and hence the Face of MS, by creating an online community: http://www.faceofms.org/. People with MS and those allied in the fight against the disease can go to the Face of MS to share their experiences and hear the stories of others. As more people contribute their stories through photo, video and written narratives, this collaborative mosaic of a face will evolve and morph. Visitors will be able to see and hear the stories by clicking on the individual images. The initial face contains the stories of 60 individuals -- sixty representing the number of years the National MS Society has served people with MS and the number of minutes between each new diagnosis of the disease. MULTI-MEDIA PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING -- A multi-media public service advertising campaign spearheaded by Clear Channel Communications, Inc., the Society's national media partner, will help direct the public to the Face of MS Website. "Brand" and image coordinated radio, TV and billboard advertising spots, together with a pass-along email directed to the Society's 600,000 members, are all being used to build public awareness and increase participation in faceofms.org and the other scheduled educational and advocacy events. MEET SIX GREAT MINDS CHANGING THE FACE OF MS RESEARCH -- To help answer the burning question of what are the "hottest" prospects in MS research and treatment now and for the future, there will be a week of webcasts focused on the theme: Six great minds that are changing the face of MS research. Each session will include an interview with a top MS researcher or specialist talking about key areas of MS research and disease management. Designed to be in layperson language, one pre-recorded webcast will be released each day during the week at 10 a.m. ET. The webcasts can be heard at: http://www.msawarenessweek.org/ and are available as podcasts. Following is the schedule: Monday, March 13: Dr. Peter Calabresi, Director of the Johns Hopkins MS Center in Baltimore. Topic: Repairing MS damage and protecting the central nervous system. Tuesday, March 14: Dr. Lauren Krupp, Director of the National Pediatric MS Center at Stony Brook University Hospital. Topic: Helping Kids with MS. Wednesday, March 15: Dr. David Hafler, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Topic: Genes and MS. Thursday, March 16: Dr. Sarah Minden, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, Professor of Medicine at Harvard. Topic: Health policies and challenges of daily life with MS. Friday, March 17: Dr. Larry Steinman, Professor of Neurology at the Stanford University Medical Center. Topic: Discovering better treatments for MS: today and tomorrow. MS COMMUNITY-WIDE RESEARCH ADVOCACY ALERT -- In collaboration with other MS organizations, the Society is asking all Americans to speak out in support of increased MS research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Because of the flat funding provided to NIH in recent years, the current annual NIH investment in MS-related research of $110 million is projected to drop by $1 million in 2007 and another $1 million in 2008. NATIONAL MS DAY OF HOPE -- To unite all those who are a part of the Face of MS, Tuesday, March 14, 2006 has been designated National MS Day of Hope. On that day everyone across the country will show their support for the MS cause and indicate that they too are a part of the Face of MS by displaying the MS Band of Hope and other MS identifiers -- and pass them on to others. A VIEW FROM THE FIELD -- In addition to the key elements of the national MS Awareness Week Campaign, each Chapter in the National MS Society's 50-state network is providing its own special touch to the campaign. To find out specific activities visit the Society's national Website http://www.nationalmssociety.org/ or call 1-800 FIGHT MS. Just a few of the highlights include: -- Greater Delaware Valley -- Selling "MS seeds of hope" featuring a little girl and her mom who has MS. When buyers secure planting instructions, they will learn more about MS and the Society, and be encouraged to join the MS Walk. -- Greater Illinois -- Holding an MS Awareness rally at a major Chicago metro transportation center and distributing MS Bands of Hope to morning commuters, and hosting a day at their state capitol to meet with legislators. -- Maine -- Visiting schools to read and present the inspirational children's book "My Grampy Can't Walk," and conducting an independence day to encourage people to try out the latest adaptive equipment. -- Minnesota -- "Wear Hope Share Hope" day to encourage people to take a band or ribbon of hope for themselves and for someone who may not know about MS; holding an Advocate for Change conference and a volunteer open house. -- New York City -- Kicking off the week, the chapter will ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ; the Empire State Building will be lit in red -- the MS color (Tuesday night), and holding "MS Awareness Night" with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. -- Ohio Buckeye -- Hosting a legislative luncheon; arranged that a landmark tower be lit in red. -- Wisconsin -- Secured a proclamation from their Governor and sending daily flash emails that share inspiring local stories.

Numerous chapters are also holding MS Walk rallies supporting MS Awareness Week in conjunction with select sponsors such as Westfield Centers and Developers Diversified Realty. Unrestricted educational grants or contributions in support of MS Awareness Week were provided by Berlex Laboratories, Biogen Idec, Clear Channel Communications, Inc., Serono, Teva Neuroscience, and Women's Health magazine.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are giving hope to those affected by the disease. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men contracting the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

The mission of the National MS Society is to end the devastating effects of MS. Through its home office and 50-state network of chapters, the Society funds more MS research, offers more services to people with MS, provides more professional education, and advances more MS advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world.

Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for many people with multiple sclerosis. Talk to your health care professional and contact the National MS Society at http://www.nationalmssociety.org/ or 1-800-FIGHT-MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.