BASEL, SWITZERLAND--On Friday, 17 Sept., Mayo Clinic neurologists will report the results of a new treatment option that was effective in over 40 percent of patients with severe attacks of multiple sclerosis and related diseases that cause inflammation and myelin destruction in the brain and spinal cord. The results of the study are being announced at the 1999 joint meeting of the European and America's Committees for Treatment and Research in MS in Basel. The study will be published in the December issue of Annals of Neurology. The study was supported by the American National Institutes of Health.

Coverage of the story for radio and print news media is possible through a live telephone news conference with Brian Weinshenker, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and the study's principal investigator, and Moses Rodriguez, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist who did pioneering research preceding the study. The press teleconference is being coordinated through a USA phone number.

AUDIO BROADCAST INFORMATION

For "Listen Only" Access to News Conference, call USA (505) 242-2204
Participant code: 698508

Audio Questions Prior to Broadcast, call USA 507-284-5964 (Mayo Clinic)

Audio Broadcast Technical Difficulties, call USA 404-529-3377

TO CALL IN CONTENT QUESTIONS DURING THE NEWS CONFERENCE, CALL (USA) 507-284-2948

Embargoed information for Journalists: A camera-ready illustration and the full news release will be available at Mayo Clinic's journalists' website at www.mayo.edu/news . This information will be posted at 10 a.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 17 and is password protected. Please enter the login, embargo and password "mayonews" to access information.

To receive Mayo Clinic news releases by e-mail, send a message to [email protected] . Include your name, affiliation, and e-mail address. Mayo Clinic news releases are available on the Mayo Home Page, http://www.mayo.edu . Mayo Clinic health information is available on Mayo Clinic Health Oasis at http://www.mayohealth.org .

CONTACTS

Jane Jacobs
507-284-2387 USA
or
507-284-2511 USA
e-mail: [email protected]

Chris Gade
507-284-2430 USA
or
507-284-2511 USA
e-mail: [email protected]